Already Yours
by skimmingsurfaces
Summary: Lifting his head up, he looked around. Oh no, this wasn't the lab. Where was the counter? Where was their cage? Where was the window? Where was Brain? Pinky gasped, eyes widening in realization. Egad... he was dead. Snowball's tingly rainbow ray of doom killed him dead. Eventual P/B.
1. Chapter 1

"Out of the shadows, he rises! The caped crusader! Do-gooder of all good things! Stop thief! Or be tickled by the fingers of justice! _Narf!_"

Draped in a dark purple handkerchief, the masked mouse leapt down from the bookshelf to tackle a rather crude drawing of 'bahd gai'. He wrestled with him, rolling about the counter top. On his back, he kicked the binder paper into the air before turning onto his belly and pouncing. He stapled the sheet to the section of the bulletin board that had been labeled 'jayl' with several other scribbles that vaguely looked like people or monsters of some kind.

Holding the stapler high above his head, he struck a heroic stance. "Evil never naps! Not with Super Mouse on the case! Protector of all things fun-fun silly-willy! It's a bird! It's a banana! It's-"

"Pinky!"

Startled, the caped crusader released his grip on the stapler only to have it come crashing down right between his ears. He laughed nonetheless and spun around to wave at his cagemate. "Never fear, citizen! Super Mouse will keep your lab safe from the icky-oogly-boogly things!"

The Brain rolled his eyes. "Oh, yes. I feel quite secure with 'Super Mouse' on the prowl. However, I am in need of my associate, so if you would kindly revert back to your secret iden-"

"Shuuuuush, Brain!" He held a finger to his lips, his mask slipping down his nose. "It's a secret!" With a flutter of his cape, he spun away behind the bulletin board, only to pop out seconds later sans mask and cape. "Hi, Brain! Poit!"

Sighing heavily, Brain rubbed his forehead. "Yes. Hello, Pinky." With a flick of his tail, he gestured for his companion to follow. "Now come. We have much to do for tonight."

Oh, boy! It was tonight already! Pinky clapped his paws together and immediately followed the shorter mouse. "What are we gonna do tonight, Brain?"

"Tonight's plan is simple, Pinky," Brain prefaced, leading him to the computer. "It takes advantage of humankind's penchant for 'smart shopping' so to speak. Tell me, Pinky, what is the one thing humans can't resist?"

"Umm... collecting various antennae balls to stick on their cars to create a sense of individuality?" Pinky offered up. He himself was currently trying to get the whole Bisneyland holiday set. So far he had Christmas. It was just so frustrating because every Christmas they made new ones, so he clearly had to keep buying them.

Brain made one of his scowly-annoyed faces and Pinky chuckled at the sight. "No, Pinky. Sales! People can't resist sales!"

"For their boats?"

The bop he received for that was delightful, sending him spinning with dizzy laughter. Brain rubbed his fist absently. "Pinky, one day I believe I will set you on a boat that goes very far away if only to gain a reprieve from your lunacy." Reaching out as Pinky spun past him, Brain yanked him down by his ear. "No, Pinky. The type of sale I am referring to is of the market variety. Retail, grocery stores, car dealerships, every single one of these institutions thrive on their weekend deals where they attract twice as many customers with the promise of bargain items."

"Buy one get one free!" Pinky chirped, jumping up and down once Brain released him.

"Precisely." The megalomaniac tapped his cagemate's hip. "Simmer."

The taller mouse stood at attention, making the other sigh. "Right, Brain!"

"Now, pay attention, Pinky," Brain reminded him, though it wouldn't be the first time he'd demand his focus that evening. "There is something that goes hand in hand with sales."

"Big inflatable gorillas?" Rather than a bop this time around, Pinky was on the receiving end of a withering look.

Brain snatched up a pencil and raised it threateningly. "Quiet, Pinky, or I shall have to hurt you." He waited until he'd made the zipping motion with his lips before continuing. "Coupons, Pinky. People are suckers for coupon books. They buy them without actually reading what the coupons are for." He tapped the computer monitor, then gestured to the screen where a word document was pulled up. "I have created my own book of coupons to circulate throughout the world. In all the major markets! Everyone will be enticed by the vast amounts of money they have the potential to save and have no choice but to purchase them. But we'll make the expiration dates on these sometime next week, so those so-called 'coupon-clippers' will flock to the Lab in order to trade in a single dollar for the chance to allow ME to rule them! They won't be able to tolerate allowing their preciously paid for coupons to expire." He rubbed his palms together fiendishly, a satisfied smirk playing at his lips.

Clasping his own hands together, Pinky looked on with adoration. Oh, Brain looked so happy! Surely this was a good plan! "Egad, Brain! Brilliant! Oh wait, no... what if people lose the coupons in their purses? Those soccer moms, whooo, I have no idea how they find anything in there. It's like a box of crayons. You never know which chocolate you'll find."

Gritting his teeth, tossing around the idea of injuring him once again, The Brain settled for actually considering Pinky's inane observation. "Hm. We'll make the books too large to fall to the bottom of their handbags," he decided, then snapped to garner Pinky's attention once more. "Now Pinky, we must print out these volumes and prepare them to be shipped out immediately. The sooner they're revealed to the unwitting populace, the sooner I will _rule the world_!"

"Yay! Fun-fun silly-willy!" He spun around in a circle, arms flailing about. His eyes were shut in his glee, so it completely missed his notice when Brain stuck out a foot to trip his associate, the only way he knew to stop him before he made himself sick from spinning.

Unfortunately, as it went with most of his schemes, Pinky did something to screw it all up.

It wasn't intentional, though it never was. He'd just been so excited to hop on the keyboard and play with the mouse that wasn't a mouse. Why was it called a mouse? It didn't do anything mouse-like. Even when he tried playing with it. So he decided it must be vanquished, because clearly it was an evil mastermind in disguise as a mouse. Though mastermind of what he didn't know, but most superheroes had to face them. He tackled it like he'd done with the paper, but he accidentally deleted the entire document. Egad! Oh, Brain would be so mad he lost it!

"Come back! _Narf!_ Oh, please come back, coupons!" He pleaded with the machine, moving the cursor all about in an attempt to find some way to salvage it.

It inched towards the funny looking rainbow-arched arrows, but on its way he passed over an icon that said "save". Oh, good! He could save the plan! The caped crusader saves the day again! But when he clicked the button, it just stayed a white, blank page. Pinky blinked and clicked again. Maybe it didn't hear him the first time. But still nothing. Frowning, he clicked it several times then frantically began trying the other buttons until the noise drew Brain over from where he'd gone to collect the necessary materials to bind the books.

His pink eyes widened, his grip going slack and everything clattered to the countertop. "Pinky! What did you _do_?"

"_Zort!_ I'm trying to save it, Brain! But it doesn't want to be saved!" It was rather frustrating really. The caped crusader's job was to save people!

Brain shoved him out of the way rather forcefully, taking over control of the mouse and clicking the 'undo' button fervently. But Pinky had already clicked too many buttons, made too many changes, the history was wiped and the coupons were lost. He growled in frustration, rounding on Pinky who was just picking himself up and dusting of his fur. He blinked at his friend, smiling sheepishly at the angry-mad-angry face, though it faded as fury colored his cheeks red.

"_Pinky!_" he bellowed, causing the taller mouse to flinch. "How is it that you can't follow the simplest of instructions? You only had to hit the print icon! That's it! Yet your ceaseless inadequacy can't even allow for that much?"

Shuffling his feet nervously, blue eyes gazed imploringly at him. "But, Brain... I didn't mean to-"

"You never _mean_ to, Pinky! But you always, always _do_!" Brain stormed towards him, only growing more furious when his cagemate backed away. "Why can't you just do as you're told? It would all be so much easier if you actually listened! It's as if you're only here to cause me grief!"

Pinky shook his head rapidly, ears wilting. "Zounds, Brain, of course not! I just want you to be happy! I do!"

"You want me to be happy? Then get out of my sight! I can't even stand to look at you right now! Follow instructions for once in your life and go away, Pinky! Go!" He made to wave him off, his wrist snapping along with him as he glared at the mouse in front of him. Tears were filling those wide blue eyes, and he had to spin around to keep his resolve and frustration from crumbling at the sight of him crying. He couldn't stand it when he cried. So he stomped away, drowning out the sound of his sniffles with the sound of his blood rushing through his ears.

"Fine! I'll go! Somewhere you don't have to look at me!" Pinky snapped, his hurt only manifesting as anger for a second before pure upset took over.

Wringing his hands together as he watched Brain go, Pinky released breathy sobs before covering his eyes and running in the opposite direction. Oh, he'd ruined everything and Brain was so mad! Madder than mad! Very mad! He wailed loudly in his despair, arms flailing. Forgoing the cage in case Brain wanted to go there later, Pinky sought sanctuary in the bookshelf. On one of the middle shelves he curled up over a book and buried his face in his arms while he trembled and cried. He was ruining his best friend's life. His destiny. Oh, he'd never love him back the way he wanted him to now...

The bout of crying only lasted about fifteen minutes. Pinky sniffled and rubbed his eyes as he lifted his head. He could see Brain hunched over something across the way, probably working on more plan thingies. Hiccupping, he watched him for a while, starting to feel a little better. Surely he'd been out of Brain's sight long enough by now. It usually didn't take too long for his friend to forgive him for being stupid. He honestly didn't try to mess up Brain's plan thingies, it just happened!

Shimmying down the shelf, he wondered if, perhaps, Brain would be better off without him... No, he'd seen it before, twice. Once when Brain went all the way to Hades to get him back from that rude Mr. Itch and again when he'd tried to throw himself off a bridge and met that lovely angel who showed him how sad Brain would be without him. He shuffled across the counter hesitantly. No, Brain needed him. He knew it. Perking up as he convinced himself of this, Pinky picked up his pace a little.

As he passed the window, it caught his eye. He wasn't sure what it was, so he paused to peer outside, opening the window to get a closer look. Oh, it was only Snowball on a big ray gun thingy pointed at Brain...

Snowball on a big ray gun thingy pointed at Brain! Egad! Pinky gasped, turning to see if Brain had noticed. But he still had his back to him, he wouldn't know, wouldn't see! Tugging on his ears in his panic, blue eyes darted between the machine doohicky and his bestest best best friend. The love of his life. Snowball, that meany-mean-head, reached out to push a button, snickering to himself like only really mean people do.

"Goodbye, Brain." Pinky heard Snowball mutter, the hamster clearly still unaware of the lanky mouse's presence. "See you in time..."

No! Pinky darted to place himself between the ray gun machine and Brain, squeezing his eyes shut as a big beam of colorful rainbow lights shot right at him. He felt all tingly at first, but it didn't hurt, then he felt all floaty in his feet and hands and head. What was going on? This didn't feel like exploding. Except, he didn't really know what exploding felt like, but he imagined it wasn't like this. Or with rainbows.

"Oof!" Suddenly he was sprawled out on the counter top... only it wasn't the counter top at all. It was a shiny tile floor. Blue and shiny. Pinky blinked. They didn't have pretty blue tiles in the lab. Unless someone came and redid them while he was sleeping and he just hadn't noticed. They were lovely though, the same shade as his eyes and reflective, he could see himself in them, they were so shiny!

Lifting his head up, he looked around. Oh no, this wasn't the lab. Where was the counter? Where was their cage? Where was the window? Where was Brain? Pinky gasped, eyes widening in realization. Egad... he was dead. Snowball's tingly rainbow ray of doom killed him dead.

With a startled shout, Pinky leapt to his feet, only to trip over his tail and go crashing to the floor. "Ow!" Hmm, no that wasn't right. If he was dead, then falling shouldn't have hurt. Right? Oh, he didn't know, but Brain would. Oh, wait, he wasn't there. Egad. Without Brain how would he ever find out if he were dead or not?

Pinky got to his feet more carefully this time around, brushing himself off. He seemed to be in a big hallway. Really big. With a giant sparkly chandelier above him with... zounds, were those glass donuts? "Naaaaaaarf." Either this was heaven or Brain had finally taken over the world and built the castle he was always talking about. But that was silly, he hadn't taken over the world yet...

"Prepare the podium for Emperor Brain's speech this afternoon." His ears twitched as he heard voices and footsteps, so Pinky turned around to see two human men dressed in all white stride past. They had little gold pins on their vests, oh! They were shaped like Brain's biggly-wiggly chubby-round chubby head! And come to think of it, they'd said 'Emperor Brain'. Emperor was one of the funny sounding titles he wanted to be called when he became supreme pizza ruler of everything.

With no other course of action on his mind, Pinky followed after the men. If Brain had taken over the world, then he was here! And these men knew him! Of course, they were in an awful hurry, and being so small, Pinky had a devil of a time trying to keep up. He ended up losing them around the library. Brain had always wanted a giant library. And it was right across from the room with a giant slip-in-slide. Oh, how lovely! Brain had taken his suggestions after all! Pinky was positive that it made their castle a bajillion times more fun-fun silly-willy with the additions.

Of course, it also made it really big and quite easy to get lost in. Pinky wished he had a map to navigate through this shiny blue palace of magic. Everywhere he went the tiles stayed the same shade. He didn't realize Brain liked this color so much. He'd have to keep that in mind when getting his next fourth of July present. But right now, the task at hand! He needed to find Brain. "If I were The Brain, where would I go?" Pinky mused, scratching his head. "Let's see..." He scrunched his face up into a scowl and hunched over a bit, deepening his voice and making it scratchy. "Are you pondering what I'm pondering?" His ears wilted and he straightened. "I'm afraid not, Brain, I have no idea where you'd be-"

"Hey! You! Trespasser, the palace is off limits to commoners!" A voice barked out.

Pinky whirled around to face whoever it was, startled to see several guard type people rushing at him. "Egad! No, you don't understand, I'm just looking for Brain!" He tried to run away, but the guards were quick to pluck him up by the fur of his neck. "Ow!"

"Who do you think you are? Not just anyone can waltz in here and demand to see Emperor Brain." The head guard sneered, and Pinky had to smother his giggles because their helmets looked like Brain's head.

"Why, I'm Pinky!" The mouse explained, gesturing widely with his arms as he dangled high above the floor.

An uncomfortable silence passed over the guards, each of them exchanging glances with one another. The one holding him narrowed his eyes, Pinky could see his name tag read "Paul". "You're Pinky?"

"Yes, at least I was this morning when I woke up, though a lot has changed since then," Pinky replied looking around him. "Poit. Can you please tell me where I am if I'm not allowed to see Brain? I'm just lost that's all."

His ears perked up as he overheard the two other guards whispering to each other. "...gone all this time, the emperor's given up..." "What if he's lying?" "What would the emperor say?" Pinky's brow furrowed, what was going on?

Paul turned to both of them. "Go alert Emperor Brain of this visitor. He's either in the throne room or the gummy bear hall."

"Egad! He made a gummy bear hall too? Oh, please say there's a rainbow drawbridge! Puh-leeeze!" Pinky placed his palms together in a begging gesture, much to the surprise of the guards. No one was supposed to know about the rainbow drawbridge that led to the gardens.

"Hurry." Paul advised his companions, and the two guards saluted before running off in search of their ruler. Turning his attention back to the mouse, he laid his left palm flat and set Pinky atop it. "You say you're Pinky, yet you hardly look a day over two."

"Well, that's because I am two! _Zort!_" He laughed, brushing off his fur after being handled so roughly. "My birthday was just last month. Brain gave me a lovely present, a new box of crayons! He accidentally melted my last box when one of his plan thingies exploded. Poit. Oh, by the way, which plan thingy worked to get him the world? Was it the coupon one? Did he save them from the mean ol' computer?"

Paul shook his head, trying to get his bearings with the inane chatter. He held up a hand to keep Pinky quiet for a moment. "Just hold on. When is your birthday?"

"October!" Pinky chirped, then wiggled his fingers and made a scary looking face. "Hallooooweeeen! Poit, well, it's not actually on Halloween, it's before then. Brain's is closer to Halloween, he's a week after me."

"What day?"

Blinking slowly, Pinky just looked up at him for a few moments. "Umm... you know, I don't know. I'd need to look at a calendar. Can you show me one?"

Paul rolled his eyes, but carried Pinky into the library to show him the calendar that was propped up on the massive desk in the center of it. He flipped to October, then held Pinky up to examine it. Squinting his eyes, Pinky knew his birthday had been a Wednesday, right in the middle!, so he followed the days of the week, but for some reason it didn't look right. Halloween hadn't been on a Monday, had it? No, he was quite sure it had been a Saturday... the lab had been empty all day so Pinky had lots of time to work on his costume. Was the calendar lying to him? He looked up to make sure it was October he was looking at and not something silly like February, because February was quite a silly month, always forgetting how many days it had. His eyes went wide as he took in the date. The calendar was on October, but it was October 2011. Pinky was almost positive they'd been in 2009. He remembered those silly glasses for New Years'. There were definitely two 0s for the eyes, because wouldn't a 1 for an eye hole look ridiculous?

"I think your calendar's broken." Pinky pointed out to Paul, though the man just shot him a confused glance, unable to respond because the two soldiers burst into the library.

"Emperor Brain agrees to meeting with the visitor. He will see him in the throne room."

"Very well. Come, mouse," he said unnecessarily, since he was still holding him and controlled where he went.

"Troz! Oh, hoorah! I'll get to see Brain!" Pinky clapped, tail wagging as he looked around. This was such an impressive castle. Brain had done very well for himself it seemed. Though he was still confused by how fast he'd managed to take over the world without him even noticing. He swallowed thickly, ears drooping. So, Brain really hadn't needed him to take over the world it seemed. He'd done just fine on his own. Without him to mess anything up. "Poit..."

* * *

Just a quick shout-out to StarShineDC! All the love! She helped with my Brain's plan thingy monologue. There is a reason we frequently collaborate with each other. His spiel is why. All I said was "coupons" and she had a scheme. Then I had an "Oh, wait, no" and the rest is history.

I've been working on this baby for quite some time now. StarShineDC can vouch for that lol, I think it was around the beginning of March or maybe even the end of February when I came up with this. It was on my way back from the grocery store! Yeah, not really necessary information. I haven't finished it yet, but I figured I'm far enough along that I can start posting chapters. A lot of what StarShineDC and I put in our stories can be found in here, like the intricacies of their castle for instance and Super Mouse has become a recurring theme in our PatB-verses (just like boa and Brain's spectacles, fancy that lol).

I've also decided that Pinky's sign is Libra and Brain's is Scorpio (because they really, truly are those signs) and that puts their birthdays in October. Whether or not that's true is anyone's guess, but in my head that's the way it rolls. And the year is 2009 just because. They time jump all the time anyway, it probably doesn't matter, I just thought the glasses thing would be something Pinky would notice xD (and not because I gripe about it all the time, no siree).

Enough of my jibber-jabber! I hope you are intrigued thus far, and I'll try and update regularly (as long as I write for this regularly heheh...)


	2. Chapter 2

The throne room was just as blue and sparkly as the rest of the castle, though the throne itself was a brilliant shade of purple and gold, and it matched the gold and purple trimmings all along the ceiling. His eyes were drawn to a pretty gold wheel in the corner. Oh, he'd love to run on that. Paul set Pinky down on a large table in the center of the room. It led right up to the little throne perched on a much larger one. But Brain wasn't there. Tilting his head, Pinky looked about find him, gaze falling on a familiar, hunched over, chubby form. He perked up immediately; Brain was over by the window! From the view he got from it, Pinky realized that the castle had been built where the lab had been. The view very much the same, if only higher up.

Paul cleared his throat, the megalomaniac's back was to them though Pinky was certain Brain had good enough hearing to know they were already there. "My liege, may we present your guest."

"Hm. Yes, you may take your leave." He waved them away, the motion slow and weary. Just like his voice.

The guards bowed before backing out of the room, the door shutting behind them with a loud click. Pinky looked from it to Brain, wondering why his friend hadn't turned to greet him yet. As he opened his mouth to be the first to say 'hi', the words died in his throat as The Brain turned around, apparently sparking a similar reaction in the smaller mouse. Only... only it couldn't be Brain. Brain wasn't that old. His fur was graying, he was much more saggy, he'd lost some of the pudginess Pinky so adored. It... it was Brain, but it also wasn't. It couldn't be. But as Pinky stared into those familiar pinky-pink eyes, for a moment all scowly-scowly like he remembered before going wide with shock, he knew it was his Brain.

"Pinky..." His name was nothing more than an exhalation of disbelief.

For some reason it unsettled him to hear his name spoken like that. "Brain... wuh... what happened? You're so old. Poit."

A hand clutched at the gray fur over his heart, and Pinky actually worried Brain would fall over and collapse just from standing there. "I've... I've finally lost it... that's... there's just no possible way..."

"What did you lose, Brain? Do you need help finding it?" Pinky offered, taking a few steps towards his friend.

Pink eyes squeezed shut, his crooked tail twitching minutely. "No... no, you're not really here. Wake up, old sport. Wake up."

Standing right in front of Brain, he looked even older up close, Pinky started to pat himself down. "_Narf._ No, I think I'm here, Brain. Though I don't know where here is."

At the sound of Pinky's voice being closer, Brain cracked open an eye to survey him. Pinky smiled reassuringly, though worry creased the lines of his face. Because there were wrinkles and so many, many tired marks on the megalomaniac's face. That wasn't right at all. Brain's fingers twitched, his wrist rising as if to reach out, but he held himself in check, tightening his grip on the cane he held in one hand. It was a very distinguished looking cane, oh, just like the little spectacles perched on his nose! Pinky clasped his hands together, holding them alongside his face as he gazed at them adoringly.

He heard Brain's breath hitch, and watched as the ruler of the world rubbed a hand over his brow. "I've become far more susceptible to hallucinations in my old age... this is unacceptable..."

Pinky tilted his head. "Well, I don't know about suggestible to hallelujahs, but you certainly are grayer than you were earlier today. And all wrinkly. And saggy-baggy, but without your round pudgy tummy thingy." He reached out to poke his friend's stomach. "Where has all your chubby gone, Brain? Did your head eat it?"

The mouse stiffened, lowering his hand to stare in awe at Pinky. It made the taller mouse a bit uncomfortable to be ogled so blatantly by his friend, so he crossed his legs and squirmed under the gaze. If anything, his eyes just got wider. "Pinky..."

"Yes, Brain? I didn't mess anything up, did I? Well, besides the coupons, but I really am sorry for that. Poit. And it looks like it worked out okay! You took over the world, right? Oh, glorious, just like you've always wanted! Ummm..." Pinky trailed off when Brain continued to just stare at him. Usually his ramblings were interrupted by this point. "Brain, are you okay? I mean, other than looking so... _old._" It was just really disconcerting.

"Pinky... it can't really be..." This time his hand did reach out to brush over the fur of his chest. He followed its movements with interest, Brain touched him so lightly, as if pressing too hard would break him.

Pinky giggled. "I'm not going to fall apart all crumbly like soggy cookies, Brain." His fingers curled around Brain's wrist, pushing his hand firmly against him.

The gasp that escaped him drew the blue gaze back to the weathered face. Tears were filling the eyes behind the spectacles and Pinky's heart lurched. Oh, he hadn't meant to make Brain cry! Wait, what had he done to make him cry? Did Brain not like cookies now? The cane clattered to the tabletop and broke him from his thoughts as both hands dragged through the fur, feeling and gripping. Pinky wiggled under the attention, expecting to be pulled down to Brain's level or something familiar, but he just kept touching. It wasn't bad, he liked being touched, and he couldn't help laughing half from nerves and half from the slightly ticklish feeling he got when he ran his hands over his stomach. But Brain was still teary-eyed and that was unacceptable.

He backed up just enough to grab both of Brain's hands in his own and gave them a squeeze. "Don't be sad, Brain! It's alright. Troz. You're not that old." Perhaps he was sensitive about that, like he was with the word chubby.

"Pinky," Brain said his name again, he seemed quite fond of saying it really, and reached up to place his palm against the taller mouse's cheek, astonished. "You... you haven't aged a day..."

"Umm... because it hasn't been a day yet?" Pinky pointed out pressing his face into Brain's hand, second guessing himself mainly because of Brain's appearance. Though he'd have thought it would take much longer than a day to look like that.

Brain blinked in confusion, moistening his eyes more, much to Pinky's displeasure. "What? No... Pinky, it's been... it's been years since..." Why was it so hard for Brain to talk? He was a smarty and biggly-wiggly words always came so easy to him. The megalomaniac swallowed thickly.

"Years? Years since what?" Pinky's brow furrowed. "Brain? What happened? How did you take over the world so fast?"

Brain's hand latched onto Pinky's, and it frightened him to feel the wrinkles that had never been there before. Things didn't change so quickly, he knew that. Brain gave a surprisingly strong squeeze for all the fragility he seemed to possess until then. "Pinky, what's the last thing you remember?"

"Umm... you yelled at me. Told me to go away, so I did, and-"

"Yelled... No, I didn't mean-" He shook his head slowly, weary, tilting his head forward to rest on Pinky's chest. "I didn't mean forever, Pinky. No, I-I didn't mean any of it."

Pinky looked around, startled, then tried to pull away because Brain didn't do things like this. "But, Brain... I was only gone a couple minutes. Well, maybe more than a couple. I don't know. I can't count, I'm stupid. Poit. But I'd never go away for forever! That's a really long time!"

"A couple of minutes? Pinky, you've been gone for two _years_."

"Oh, well, I guess I'm worse at counting than I thought," Pinky mused, pulled out of his thoughts when Brain grabbed onto his shoulders and started shaking him. Now that was more like it!

"How is that the last thing you remember?" he demanded.

"Because... it just... is?" He shrugged, smiling sheepishly, but it faded as he recalled the for real last thing he remembered. "No, wait! Snowball was there!"

"_Snowball?_"

Pinky nodded vehemently, concern flashing on his face. "Oh, yes, Brain! He was outside the window. He had a huuuuuge tingly rainbow ray of doom! And he was pointing it right at you, but you couldn't see it, so I jumped in the way to stop it, but then instead of falling on the counter, I fell here! _Troz!_ On the pretty blue tiles. But now everything's so strange." He looked around as if to emphasize this, bringing his gaze back to meet Brain's after some time. "I thought I was dead at first, but you're here so I must not be."

Something flashed in Brain's eyes, a despair so deep Pinky wasn't even sure if he'd really seen it. The hands on his shoulders rubbed reassuringly, more so for their owner than the one on the receiving end of the touch. "No, you're not..."

"So what I am then?"

Brain took a deep breath, hesitantly released Pinky to fold his arms behind his back. "Apparently, you're still two years old, Pinky, while I'm four going on five." At Pinky's gasp, Brain shot him a half-hearted glare.

"Egad, Brain! You're as old as dirt!" His palms flew to his cheeks, eyes wide.

His ear twitched, the typical scowly-scowl tugging on his features. "Thank you for that jarring comparison..." he grumbled, making to reach for his cane. Pinky snatched it up and handed it to him before he could even bend over. Their eyes met, stayed fixated on each other until Pinky looked away bashfully and Brain cleared his throat. Tapping his cane on the floor, he continued with his previous thought. "You haven't aged and your last memory deals with Snowball... that fiend. I knew he was behind this all along! Always denied it though... could never prove it. He must have... must have..." The Brain rubbed his forehead, clearly taxed and quickly slumping.

Pinky wrapped an arm around Brain, letting him lean against his side for support. The shorter mouse looked up in surprise, then steadily relaxed until the majority of his weight was pressed flush against his companion. Oh, Pinky didn't like seeing The Brain like this; all saggy and baggy and sad. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to push all the happy feelings he had into his friend. Clearly he needed all the happiness he could get.

Brain observed this quietly, his lips twitching as if he knew exactly what was going through Pinky's mind, other than a bunch of tumbleweeds. "I suppose it doesn't matter," he murmured, garnering his attention. An arm wrapped around his waist, patting slowly. "You're here now."

Nodding, Pinky relished the tender attention. Though, a part of him couldn't help but wonder if he wanted to be wherever here was.

-8-8-

The Brain had called for a guard soon after, to inform them that the hunt for Snowball's rebel base must be heightened. That hamster would not be allowed to roam free as he pleased for much longer. Paul had been the one to respond to the summons, surprising the ruler of the world when Pinky greeted the guard by name. The name tags were there for a reason, after all, Brain could never be bothered to learn the names of his staff. Yet Pinky recognized him before he even got close enough to read the tag.

The two mice were then escorted to Brain's private chambers. He'd called off his afternoon speech and requested to not be bothered by any inane trivialities. Pinky didn't know what those were, but he glad that Brain was making all sorts of time just for him. And he thought he'd be so much busier once he took over the world! When he shared this sentiment though, Brain merely gripped his hand tightly and assured him that he'd always make time for him. He said it with such intensity, Pinky couldn't help the dark blush that painted his cheeks or the gushy feelings bouncing around inside.

Brain gave his hands a pat, familiar and soothing, but when Pinky expected him to let go he defied it by holding on. The pair were set on Brain's desk, and he waved Paul away. The taller mouse tried to watch him go, but with his hands still in Brain's grasp he found himself being tugged after his cagemate. His eyes darted all about the room, taking in every detail. There was a giant bed draped in all sorts of shades of blue. Brain really, really liked this color. Above the bed hung a giant chandelier made of Christmas lights. How had Brain known he wanted that too? He didn't remember ever vocalizing it, but he had written it down on his "things to put in our castle when Brain rules the world" list. Had he ever shown him that list? There was another golden wheel in this room too, in addition to the one in their cage... oh, their cage! It was exactly the same as he remembered! Their bed was even in there still, despite Brain having this big fancy new one. And his wheel and the water bottle and the sardine tin and his toy box...

Pinky stopped and stared. Why would Brain keep their old things if they had so many new things? Wasn't he always saying how the sardine tin was getting too cramped and he'd need to exchange it for something bigger? And there were so many wheels all around.

He felt eyes on him, so Pinky turned his head away from the cage to meet Brain's gaze. "I couldn't... I couldn't get rid of anything while you weren't here... I didn't know what you would've deemed necessary to keep, no matter how useless it may have seemed to me."

"But why didn't you get yourself a new secret box of secret secrets, Brain?" Pinky asked, because surely that didn't require his input.

Brain averted his gaze, scowling. "I wasn't in danger of running out of space any longer. It wasn't... I didn't require a new one."

"Because your plan thingy worked?"

Pink eyes flickered back to the lanky mouse and he hesitated a moment. "Yes. Yes, that's why. The plan..." He released Pinky's hands abruptly and spun around, walking away towards the large glass doors that led to a balcony. "Come, Pinky. I'm going to show you what we rule over."

"'Kay!" Pinky skipped past him, even more of a simple task now that Brain was older. He pushed open the door for him and received a pat to the side for his efforts.

The view from the balcony was spectacular. Pinky awed over it as he took in the wide expanse of gardens and fountains, beaming as he caught sight of the giant statue in Brain's image, even though there was something not quite right about it. Beyond it, there were gates guarded carefully and beyond _that_ was the rest of the city. It looked different from what he'd remembered, more buildings and more people. But at least the riff raff seemed to be gone still!

Pinky turned to grin at Brain, congratulate him for all he'd managed to accomplish in an hour or so, but the light was extinguished and only bitter regret glimmered in the intense eyes he'd come to love so much. "Brain? Why are you sad, Brain? You should be happy! _Narf!_ You have everything you've ever wanted! The whole world!" He spread his arms out wide, glancing skyward for a moment. "Aren't you happy?"

"How am I supposed to be happy, Pinky?" When the megalomaniac's gaze met his, Pinky felt cold in the pit of his stomach. His companion paused, tapping the cane against the ground. "All things considered, I should be happy, yes. But everything in life comes at a price, Pinky. The price for all this... well, I'm not entirely convinced it was worth it." His hand tightened around his cane.

Blinking slowly, Pinky reached out to rest his hand on Brain's shoulder. "But Brain..."

The door opened behind them, despite the protests of the guards. Pinky and Brain turned around and stepped back into the suite; the taller mouse with a curious expression and the shorter with an annoyed one. "I told you not to bother us!"

"Chill, dad. Word just got out that you've canceled all your plans for the day, I just wanted to check up on you. See what's what."

Pinky's eyes widened. Even Romy... even Romy looked older. Not much, but Pinky was his mummy and he could tell. Brain on the other hand scoffed at their son's presence. "I believe you're forgetting who the parent is around here, Roman, and who the child is."

"Can you blame me for being concerned, what with all the stunts you pull..." The clone muttered and folded his arms across his chest, though with Pinky's hearing being unaffected by age unlike his friend's, he heard him quite clearly. "Glarb."

Deciding to ignore it, like he'd been doing with most of the things completely baffling him today, Pinky simply waved at the half-him, half-Brain mouse. "Hi, Romy! Do you live in our bouncy bubble boat castle too?"

Roman Numeral 1 hadn't noticed Pinky's presence until the taller mouse spoke, his eyes widening as he took in his appearance. "_Ma_...?" He blinked twice, the Pinky in him considered rubbing his eyes while the Brain in him reminded him of how unnecessary that was. "This is just freaky."

"See? A perfectly adequate reason behind shirking my duties for the day. Even world leaders deserve breaks." The Brain grumbled, not meeting his son's gaze.

"What did you do, dad?"

"What did _I _do? He's the one who showed up in the middle of the palace!" Brain gestured brusquely to his companion, his glare softening and lingering as Pinky smiled at him.

Romy shook his head, rubbing his forehead. His parents; he'd never understand them. But this was even especially weird. His "mother" looked younger than himself. The exact same as he had when he'd gone missing. When he'd "run away". He remembered Brain coming to the apartment early that morning, too early to even be considered morning, drenched from draining a river of some sorts and fatigued from worry and hoping that the wayward mouse had ended up seeking shelter with him. Bunny had offered to take them out in her car, but Brain refused stubbornly, convinced that Pinky couldn't have gotten far enough where they'd require a car.

After a week he'd been willing to take a rocket if it meant finding him.

After a month he'd taken over the world and used every resource made available to him.

After a year...

Romy pushed that thought out of his head, focusing instead on the perplexity of Pinky's presence, as well as the mind-boggling sight of his dad actually looking somewhat... happy. That actually was more startling. But understandable, he supposed. "Pinky, how did you-"

"Snowball." Brain interrupted, his glare returning full-force, dark and on the verge of sinister. "I've already tripled the search for him."

"Dad, you know he hasn't been spotted in months. His rebellion hasn't seen any activity as of three weeks ago either." He pointed out, gaze drifting to Pinky and observing the manner in which he was distracted by something on the ceiling. He narrowed his eyes, it looked like his other parent, but was it? "If Snowball is behind it-"

"He is! Pinky told me himself!" The ruler of the world snapped, his voice breaking off into a cough and he rubbed his throat gingerly.

Romy took a deep breath, no need to stress him out any more than necessary. He watched as Pinky rubbed Brain's back, blue eyes shining with concern. Honest concern. No, it was the real deal. No impostor could look at the megalomaniac with that much love. "Okay, dad, okay. So the crazy hamster, what, cryogenically froze him for two years?"

"It's a possibility." Brain remarked, patting Pinky's side as a 'thank you'. "In all honesty, Roman, I don't particularly care what he did as long as he's punished for it severely." Even though he'd been addressing his son, his gaze never left his cagemate's. "You're here now, that's what matters."

Pinky beamed, understanding the sentimentality perfectly. "I'll always be here, Brain."

Romy felt a combination of fury and heartache at the honesty with which Pinky told him that. Where had he been the past two years? Certainly not _here_. Not here while Brain wasted away, day after day, thinking he was hated by the very mouse - the only mouse - he ever loved. He rubbed his head again as his tail twitched, there was no need to get upset. It wasn't his fault.

Arms wrapped around him and he looked up in surprise. Pinky was hugging him, tail wagging. "You look so grown-up, Romy."

Clearing his throat, Roman hugged him back. He'd missed his parent, yes, but he hadn't realized just how much until he was surrounded by the familiar scent and loving embrace. "Thanks, ma. I guess I kinda am."

"_Narf! _ Do you help Brain with all his ruler of the world thingies?" He hadn't heard 'narf' in ages. He'd actively stopped saying it when he'd see the reaction it spurred in Brain. His gaze would immediately scan the crowds for Pinky.

"Yes, Roman is my prime minister." Brain put in, actually sounding proud.

Pinky gasped, giving his son an extra squeeze before stepping back to survey him. "Oh, that's super! Romy, I'm so proud! A prime rib and a ventrololoquist!"

"Prime minister, ma. And I'm not a ventriloquist anymore. I mean, it's more of a hobby now..." Their clone shrugged.

Blue eyes blinked in confusion, the exact shade of the floors, and Pinky tilted his head. Wasn't being a ventilator Romy's dream? "But-"

"And he has my complete support." Brain added, glancing between both mice.

"Surprisingly enough."

"Watch your tone, mister."

"Glarb."

Pinky looked down at the ground, forehead getting all scrunchy like Brain's when he was thinking really hard. He could see himself in the shiny-sparkly floor. He looked as confused as he felt. Brain had taken over the world but he wasn't happy. Romy was supported by Brain and was helping him but he wasn't following his dreams. This wasn't right at all.

"Oh, ma... don't cry." He heard Romy tell him awkwardly, patting him on the shoulder. Pinky blinked and in fact did see tears spilling out of his reflection's eyes.

Sniffling, he wiped them away, looking up to find twin looks of concern. "I just don't understand... it's not right."

"Well, things change in two years-"

"But it hasn't been that long!" Pinky backed up, his confusion making him distressed. "It hasn't! I was just in the lab, I was there!"

Brain latched onto Pinky's wrist, to keep him from moving away further, but the tight grip scared Pinky even more. It was familiar and it wasn't. "Pinky, don't-"

"This isn't right! It's all wrong, Brain! I want to go home!" He tried to pull away, but ended up sliding to the floor. Brain was old and Romy was old and they had a whole castle and things weren't supposed to change this quickly. He knew that much. And everyone kept talking about years, and years were such a long time. So many tomorrow nights. He squeezed his eyes shut as more tears spilled out. There's no place like home. There's no place like home. Where were ruby slippers and magic bubble fairies when you needed them?

A pair of shaking, weathered hands cupped his cheeks. "You are home, Pinky. You're finally home." Brain sounded so tired. Like he'd been running on the wheel for a really long time. Their noses touched and Pinky forced his eyes open, grounding himself in those eyes that were still the same. Still pink, still intense. "You're home."

Pinky sniffled and stopped trying to pull away. He let Brain brush away the tears, wrapped his arms around the smaller mouse to drag him in for a hug. It surprised him how willing Brain was to accept it, shifting his hold to wind around his shoulders and let himself be embraced. The touch to the top of his head had him looking up at Romy as his cagemate moved to bury his face in his neck.

"I know you're confused, ma. It'll be okay, we'll try and explain what we can when you're ready." And when Brain was ready too, apparently, Roman noted as he tried to ignore the minute tremors that traveled through his aging father.

"Explain what?" Pinky asked, rubbing Brain's back, alarmed that the texture was quite different from what he remembered as well. It was stiff, coarse, fragile... no longer as soft and fluffy as he'd been earlier that day, when he'd gotten away with a quick hug (it lasted six whole seconds before Brain bopped him, a new record!).

Looking over his parents, cuddling like he'd never seen them do before, Romy just waved it off. Pinky wouldn't pay much attention to whatever he said right now anyway. "Don't worry about it, ma. Just... why don't you let dad show you around?"

* * *

Chapter 2! Thanks to everyone who's shown interest thus far, by reading or reviewing or faving or whatever.

Brain's old as dirt! Egad! I forgot how much fun I had in this chapter, even if it's mostly all sad and stuffs. But fun is fun! Yes xD

Hope you enjoy it! I should be getting these chapter updated every day now that I've finished the story!


	3. Chapter 3

"Naaaaaaarf!" Pinky whooped as he slid down the slip-n'-slide right into a pool of lime jell-o. He popped out, laughing and smacking his lips. Oh, fun-fun silly-willy! It was even better than he'd imagined!

Feeling an intense gaze on him, Pinky turned to look at Brain. He sat across the way, absently caressing his cane. Even when caught staring, something that usually sent his grumpy-growly cagemate into huffy denial complete with a bright red blush, Brain didn't avert his eyes. It sent delicious shivers down Pinky's spine. His heart skipped a beat as he waved, giggling and nearly swooning when Brain waved back. Egad... he'd never received so much of Brain's undivided attention before!

"Brain! Are you sure you don't want to play?" he asked, squirming in the jell-o as the idea of Brain willingly playing with him evoked bunches of happy butterflies in his belly.

The aged megalomaniac shook his head. "I'm quite content to watch you, Pinky. And I'm afraid I am not as... agile as I once was."

"What's that, Brain?"

"Fast."

Pinky giggled, covering his mouth with a green, slicked hand. "Oh, but you were never fast. Not even when we were itty bitty before you got your chubby-round tummy!"

"Yes... well..." he cleared his throat, cheeks reddening a touch, but more or less ignored the word he usually abhorred. "I'm even... less inclined for speed than what you remember, I'm sure." He couldn't help the slight smirk as Pinky's laughter bounced off the walls.

They hadn't even gotten halfway through the tour before Pinky suddenly remembered he wanted to play on the slip-n'-slide and had almost resorted to begging (though it never took long to do that) before Brain allowed their exploration of the castle to be postponed in favor of play time. Even though it was never used, the slip-n'-slide room was consistently cleaned and the jell-o pool refilled to ensure it was in top form in the event that it would be used someday. All the rooms he'd created from the list he'd found of Pinky's were kept immaculate. He wouldn't allow anything otherwise.

"Can we go see the gummy bear hall after this, Brain?" Pinky asked, flailing about as he tried to slide out of the jell-o, but it made him all slippery.

Brain sighed fondly and got to his feet. "Yes, I suppose we can go there next. It's nearing sunset so the lighting in there should be ethereal." Hobbling over, carting a towel with him, he handed it to the lanky mouse and watched as he attempted to clear the viscous substance off him and failed. "Oh, Pinky... come here."

Touch wasn't something he went without in their relationship, not at all. The bops to the head, the yanks, the tugs, the pulling. But those touches weren't exactly tender or soft (and he was perfectly okay with that). Brain cleaned him with a gentleness Pinky had witnessed before, but hardly ever on his own person. He rubbed the towel over his fur until the last of the slippery green dessert was gone, then carted his fingers through his fur. Leaning into his hands, the taller mouse sighed and let the touches happen.

Realizing that he was getting a little carried away, not to mention two guards were standing by not far off, Brain cleared his throat and set the towel aside in favor of his cane. "Come, Pinky."

As obedient as ever, Pinky followed, slowing his gait so as not to overtake his friend. The two mice nodded at the guards and Brain gestured to be picked up. It was far easier to be carried around the castle, though he could still make it around well-enough on his own thanks to the aging serum he'd devised to extend his life. It was very likely he'd make it to be six years old. Glancing sidelong at Pinky, who was oohing and ahhing over the decor, he made a mental note to start introducing it to him as well. Perhaps he could even extend Pinky's life further by slowing the aging process earlier on. Possibly to eight. He gave his companion a pat on his hip, forcing himself not to smile as those big blue eyes shone brightly at him. Oh, what had he been thinking? The tiles couldn't compare to the life in those eyes.

The fact that there was still life in them... he would do everything in his power to make sure they stayed vibrant and loving for as long as possible. When he'd drained that infernal river under that infernal bridge... he couldn't deny the fear that gripped his heart as his brain conjured images of the small, bloated, air-deprived, pale body he was sure to find.

As if sensing his upset, which knowing Pinky he probably did, the taller mouse took his hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "I can't wait to see all the gummy bears, Brain."

Brain took a deep breath, the innocence enough to allow him to compose himself. "Of course, Pinky. I hope you like them."

"Oh, I know I will, Brain! _Troz!_ You can't go wrong with gummy bears!" You really couldn't, they were so fun and bright and happy!

The doors opened, revealing the congregation of colors. They spilled over each other in the light, mingling like a stained glass window. The walls and the ceiling were all made of gummy bears, so the rays of sunlight could reach in freely. Brain glanced from the room to his cagemate, heart skipping a beat as pure, unadulterated wonder and awe danced across his features.

"Naaaaaaarf." Pinky laced his fingers together, bringing his hand up aside his cheek. "Oh, Brain...!"

The smaller mouse cleared his throat, gesturing at the room nonchalantly. "Yes, well... it's just a little something I put together based off your request." He twisted the cane in his hand, an absent motion. "Do you like it?" he asked unnecessarily, the adoration in those blue, blue eyes more than enough to let him know how his friend felt. But he still, selfishly, wanted to hear the words himself.

Pinky nodded, shifting his gaze away from the pretty colors to look at the him and into a pair of the prettiest color of them all. "It's so much better than I imagined, Brain!"

With his own carefully schooled nod, Brain tapped his cane against the guard's hand. The two mice were lowered to an elevated seating area in the middle of the room, up against one of the gummy bear windows. Pinky laughed, running through the different beams of colors, painting himself in reds, oranges, and greens. Brain settled into his chair, bathed half in yellow and half in red, watching contentedly.

Dancing and twirling and laughing, Pinky didn't stop until his gaze fell upon The Brain. He smiled shyly in the brilliant light, fur stained orange and his eyes appearing like an ocean at sunset. "I bet we're the only ones who know what it's like to be inside a rainbow," he told him seriously, rocking on his heels.

"Yes, Pinky. Indeed we are." He held his hand out to him, beckoning. Without waiting a beat, Pinky went over to him, but sat at his feet, placing his head in his lap. Brain looked at him with surprise, he hadn't done something like this since they were children, or perhaps his memory was fading after all. No, he'd done this before, to cheer him up with ridiculous song and dance. Stroking his head, Brain scratched behind his ear, lips twitching as Pinky's foot jerked and his tail wagged incessantly. "I don't believe anyone else on this entire planet has their whole room fashioned from gummy bears."

"And you said it was a silly idea," Pinky giggled, only refraining from closing his eyes because he wanted to watch the colors ripple as the sun moved downwards.

Actually, Brain had called it something quite a bit more rude and insulting than 'silly', but as long as Pinky took it that way, then he supposed it didn't matter what he'd said. "Well, it is silly, Pinky, but it's also very you." His hand didn't stop its petting, focused on how perfect he looked in yellow. "I'm very glad I made this room. I come here rather frequently when I... when I miss you," he confessed quietly.

"But you don't have to miss me, Brain. I'm right here," he reminded, nuzzling into the touch.

He dropped his head down, burying his face in the fur atop Pinky's head, his fingers curling around the back of his neck. "We'll come here together then. Always."

"_Narf._" Pinky liked that idea. He liked doing everything together with Brain. Trying to look up at him, but unfortunately still couldn't manage to see the top of his head, Pinky addressed the ceiling, "Brain, you can't see the colors if you do that."

"I don't need to see them, Pinky. I can feel them." Radiating off this precious creature, his very soul was a rainbow of colors.

"Oh, alright then." Pinky easily accepted this, nestled in his lap, and sat with him until the sun sank beyond the horizon and the light faded around them.

Not one for sitting still for so long anyway, Pinky began to squirm and wiggle, not stopping until Brain sighed and finally lifted his head, giving his bottom a pat. At the permission, the taller mouse hopped to his feet and spun around in dizzying circles for a few moments to release the energy that built up. Brain observed with some amusement, then called for the guard to take them to the dining room for dinner.

"Is it food pellets?" Pinky asked, hopping from foot to foot before joining Brain on the guard's hand.

Brain scoffed. "Please, Pinky. We can do a little better than food pellets now that I'm ruler of the world." Because he'd never tell him that part of the weight loss came from the fact that he couldn't even look at food pellets without feeling his heart break all over again. He hated to use the sentiment, but it truly did feel that way. His chest would hurt as if something inside had been smashed.

"Oooh, what is it then, Brain? Jelly and cardboard sandwiches? Spaghetti and turnips? Mashed peas and leather? Peanut butter? Oh, I do love peanut butter! _Zort._" Pinky licked his lips and rubbed his belly.

The inanity was a blessing. The things his companion came up with... how he'd missed them. "I'm not sure, Pinky. It will be a surprise."

"A surprise? Oh, I love surprises even more than I love peanut butter!" He hugged himself and laughed, rocking from side to side.

The dining room was just as lavish as Pinky would've expected. There was a long mahogany table with matching chairs bordering it. Brilliant light fixtures hung from overhead and the walls were lined with more of the dark wood and gold embellishment. The chair at the head of the table had been specially designed, the seat boosted up for ones as short as themselves to easily reach. Beside it, the chair to its right was also boosted. This was the chair Pinky was placed in.

He bounced on the cushion, giggling as he squirmed against the velvety-softness. His attention was stolen away by his reflection in the tabletop. It was polished so nicely, it was like a mirror! Pinky made faces into it, only ceasing when Brain rapped his cane on the wood of the table with a stern look. Smiling sheepishly, Pinky composed himself, aside from a few soft laughs.

Brain rolled his eyes, reaching out to pat Pinky's hand fondly. "Settle, Pinky."

"Right, Brain, sorry." He shrugged his shoulders up and tilted his head, stilling the rest of his body.

It only lasted a moment though, their food was brought out shortly after. Pinky perked up as he watched the silver platter cross the room to be set in front of him, a matching one given to his cagemate. The lid was lifted, revealing a little cheese souffle and steamed green vegetables. None of them limp. Brain hummed in approval, while Pinky clapped his hands in delight.

"Oh, thank you so much!" he told the server who'd brought it to them. "_Narf! _ I absolutely love cheese!"

As the server accepted the gratitude in a stunned manner, Brain nodded as a sign of his own appreciation. He set his cane down in favor of his fork, waiting until Pinky finished drooling over the food to eat it instead. The pleasured hums and excited chirps that punctuated each forkful of souffle were music to Brain's ears. The perfect accompaniment to his meal.

"No need to eat so quickly, Pinky. It's not going anywhere and you'll just give yourself a stomach ache," Brain reminded him, rather hypocritically, for he was shamelessly drinking in the sight of the blue eyed mouse without coming up for air, not caring at all about any aches this might result in. It was worth it.

Even when Pinky caught him staring, the taller mouse only smiled and waved, completely accepting it. But then, didn't Pinky completely accept everything he did? Only able to finish half his souffle, Brain settled back and waited for his dear, dear friend to finish his own food, then move on to polish off the remainder of his.

"Poit. Why didn't Romy eat with us? Is he coming later?" Pinky asked, despite his mouth being full of cheese, nodding to all the empty chairs. "And who are all these chairs for?"

Brain drummed his fingers over his stomach, the first question the easiest to tackle. "He and Bunny have their own quarters within the castle, complete with a kitchen, so they tend to take their meals there. I imagine that's what he's doing tonight, though he does join me on occasion. As for the rest of these chairs, this is the formal dining room so when I have important guests or dinner meetings we typically hold them in here."

Pinky looked around at them all, gaze lingering on the two servers and two guards over by the far wall before turning back to Brain. "What about normal dinners? When you don't have guests and when Romy's not here?"

"Then I dine in solitude, either in here or I have it delivered to my office and eat while I work."

Blue eyes blinked blankly, though Brain knew he was processing in his own slow way. "Oh... troz. So... you eat by yourself? Every night?"

"Most nights, yes," Brain replied, staring at a spot on the wall right above Pinky's head so he didn't have to see the way those ears drooped and that mouth twist into a pout. Oh, he wished it wasn't that way either. In a perfect world, none of his meals would have been spent alone, nothing would have. "Finish your dinner, Pinky."

Paul returned to escort the mice back to the master suite at the end of their meal. He asked if The Brain would like someone to run a bath for him or for his companion, but the megalomaniac declined, claiming himself to be too tired.

"Although, if you want one, Pinky, feel free to take advantage of the opportunity," Brain offered.

The taller mouse declined as well and, after a brief discussion regarding Pinky's sleeping arrangements (which consisted of Paul asking which guest suite to set up and Brain replying firmly that he'd stay in his quarters with him), the two mice were left to their own devices for the rest of the night. Brain carefully removed his spectacles, setting them on the nightstand along with his cane. Pinky sat cross-legged on the pillow and watched, especially aware of the way Brain rubbed his temples.

"Achy breaky head, Brain?"

"Mm," he hummed, pinching right between his eyes. "My sight isn't what it once was, Pinky, it does get quite arduous at times to spend the day with corrective lenses."

"Poit. I always told you not to read in the dark, Brain," Pinky 'tsked', stretching his legs out and grabbing onto his toes.

Brain glanced over at him, lowering his hands and lips twitching. "Yes, you did, my friend. Though I believe this development was inevitable, regardless of my nocturnal reading patterns." He reached for a vial he kept on the nightstand, filled with some kind of clear liquid and poured it into a thimble. He paused at halfway, debating for a moment or two, then filled it the rest of the way.

Pinky watched, rocking back and forth, as Brain drank down half of the thimble. "What's that, Brain? An anti-wrinkle formula? Mouth wash? Antacids? Hair dye?"

Well, he was on the right track with the first guess. "Not exactly, Pinky." Brain coughed, still not used to the taste even after all this time. "Come here a moment." He held out the remainder of the thimble to him. "Drink this for me."

"Well, you already drank some for you." Pinky took the thimble nonetheless and sniffed, scrunching his nose a little. "Is it medicine?"

"Yes. Yes, Pinky, it's medicine." Brain patted the top of his head, running his thumb along the curve of his ear. "And I'd appreciate it immensely if you took it."

Pinky blinked at him, frowning slightly. "But I'm not sick, Brain." Suddenly he gasped, hugging the thimble to his chest. "Are you sick? Is that why you're all old and not as chubby and need glasses and a stick to walk with? You're sick?"

He only bopped him on the head, and not nearly with the force he was used to, in order to calm him from his panicked babbling. "No, Pinky. I'm not sick. This is medicine to... prevent illness."

"Oh. Poit. Alright then." He downed the anti-aging serum, and Brain felt a twinge of guilt at how easily he could get Pinky to do things. He'd quite forgotten the insurmountable degree of trust he had in him. But this was for the best. Pinky would live a long, healthy, happy life here in this castle. Brain took the thimble from him when he'd finished, rolling his eyes at the face Pinky made, sticking his tongue out and making gagging noises. Quite dignified.

"Thank you, Pinky. You did very well." Brain praised, setting the thimble aside. When he turned back to his cagemate, the taller mouse was preening like a bird, chest puffed out, eyes closed, and head held high as he soaked up the praise. He really hadn't done it enough. When his weathered hand settled on Pinky's cheek, the blue eyes opened again to stare at him curiously. They stayed like that a moment, then Brain leaned in and pressed his lips to Pinky's forehead. "Thank you, Pinky."

"_Narf,_" he whispered in awe, cheeks coloring slightly. "For what, Brain?"

Brain nudged him to get him to lie down on the pillow, reclining beside him and dragging the blanket up around them. He tapped him on the nose as he too laid down. "For coming back to me."

Pinky flashed that heart-melting smile and made to wrap his arms around him, holding him close. "I'll always come back to you, Brain."

And while the aging mouse beside him heard this and settled into the embrace, in ACME Labs two years prior, a much younger megalomaniac stared at the empty space in the bed beside him, wondering why his companion had yet to return to his side.

* * *

Old Brain :( I love him. And I suppose present day Brain deserves a sad face too.

I'm very proud of the gummy bear hall, and I wish I had one xD Pinky is very clever when it comes to decorating castles.

I know this isn't even close to an every day update lol, but I've been doing so work (getting paid, woo!) and forgetting things more often than I should be. (I understand Old Brain, I'm getting old too). Hopefully I'll remember more often and I'll also put chapter 4 up sometime today.


	4. Chapter 4

Pinky awoke to a truly terrifying sound, and fingers digging into his side and _hurting_. It was like someone was screaming without air. He yelped as the hands pressed harder. Squirming, he managed to pry them loose enough so he could roll over and investigate.

It was Brain. Still deep in sleep, squeezing his eyes shut as he reached out, desperately seeking something. Wanting to comfort despite their too firm grip, Pinky took one of his shaking hands in his own, squeezing and reaching out to pet his head with his free hand. The choked cries quieted into whimpers, but they were too pathetic and weak to be coming from his Brain. It filled his stomach with a bunch of really bad feelings. Brain never got this upset or frightened, never.

"Pinky-! Pinky, no," he sobbed, curling up in his arms. "Don't leave me, don't-! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Pinky-!"

"Shhh..." Pinky engulfed him in his arms, embracing him tightly to stop those sounds and shakes. "I'm here, Brain. Poit. I'm right here. Please don't cry."

The tremors slowed, and his breathing eased as the warmth and scent permeated his senses. "Pinky..." he hiccuped, curling his fingers in the fur of his chest.

"It's okay, Brain. It's just a bad dream." Pinky nuzzled affectionately, breathing a sigh of relief when the smaller mouse fell back to peaceful sleep. When he was certain he wouldn't wake up, or start crying again, Pinky pulled back just enough to brush away the tear tracks in his fur. His face was so tired, graying and weary even with most of the lines smoothed away in sleep. "Brain... What happened, Brain? Who did this to you?" He rubbed their noses together, then let his eyes fall shut. "Well, I'll take care of you. _Narf._ I'll make sure they never hurt you again. Promise."

-8-8-

Brain awoke in a panic. The foreign, yet familiar, warmth he'd grown accustomed to in his sleep was gone. The big bed was empty, save for him. His senses, having dulled with age, couldn't even pick up the scent of his friend. It was as if he'd never been there.

Of course, Pinky had simply woken up early as he always did and had gone off in search of breakfast and a coffee pot so he could make some tea. But with the castle being so big and his attention span so not, he quickly got lost. Every hallway looked the same, or it did to him, and he kept finding himself back in the room with the donut chandelier. It was a lovely room, of course, and his favorite because it was the first one he saw, but it didn't help him find food any faster.

With a sigh, Pinky began the search again, only to come across Paul and his two guard friends, Biff and Brian. "Poit! Oh, hello!" What luck! They'd be able to help him find the kitchen.

At first they tried to insist that someone else would take care of their morning meal and he could go wait in the dining room, but Pinky was adamant on at least making his own tea. Brain liked the way he made it, after all, so it was important that he make it just right for him. So the guards gave in and took him to the kitchen, telling the chef to just let him make the tea. They offered him the tea kettle and a mug with two thimbles and let him have at it.

The chef's name was Carl, and he made the most delicious pancake batter he'd ever tasted! They had a lovely conversation, and Pinky told him all about the time he and Brain had a gigantic pancake jamboree while he waited for the water to heat up. He wasn't used to using a kettle though, he'd adapted and used the lab's coffee pot for most of his tea needs. Luckily he had Carl to help him out, he poured the water into the mug for him and even got him the English Breakfast Tea off of the high shelf for him. Pinky was pleased to see it was the brand he'd always used at the lab, that hadn't changed at least.

While it steeped in the mug, Pinky collected the honey and the lemon. He also requested that Carl make the pancakes into Mickey Mouse shapes, clapping happily as the first one was flipped and had such a nice golden brown color to it. Carl was a pancake wizard!

Pinky had just removed the tea bag when the kitchen door burst open. Both chef and mouse looked up, startled, and the latter actually dropped the hot bag on himself and yelped. It was Biff, the younger of the three guards and he strode over to Pinky with purpose. "Emperor Brain wishes to see you."

"Oh, why would he waste one of his wishes on that? He'll see me in a little while, once I'm done with the tea!" Pinky responded. You only got three wishes after all. Oh, he hadn't known Biff was a genie. That explained the funny outfit.

The guard appeared confused. "But, Mister Pinky-"

"Please, Mister Pinky is my envelope name!" He really only put it on letters that he mailed to very important people. Like Seventeen magazine. "Call me Pinky!"

"Of course, Pinky," Biff amended, still rather uneasy. "But Emperor Brain asked for you. And I think he means immediately."

"Oh, he could mean any number of things. With all those big words, woooo, I have no idea what he's saying sometimes." Pinky waved it off. "I'll come see him when the tea's ready! And bring it to him! Poit."

"We have servers who can do that for you-"

"I want to do it!"

Biff nodded, saluting the little mouse. "Of course. I'll let him know."

Pinky saluted right back, giggling to himself once the guard left and busied himself with spooning the honey in and squeezing the lemon. He hummed as he stirred the hot drink, not aware of Carl's surprised expression over the fact that someone had actually ignored Brain's order. The door opened again, a little quieter this time, but Pinky didn't pay it any attention as he scooped the tea into the two thimbles.

"Carl? Do we have any food pellets at all? Brain likes to dip them in his tea sometimes like a crumpet." he asked, not turning around and testing the temperature with his pinky finger.

"No, Pinky. I haven't had food pellets in quite a while."

Pinky spun around, beaming at his cagemate who had somehow magically appeared on the counter next to him. In reality, Biff had brought him in upon request, and he'd been watching the taller mouse hum and go about making their tea. "Brain! Good morning! _Zort!_ I made you tea!" He handed him one of the thimbles, tail wagging expectantly.

The megalomaniac took it carefully, his hands trembling, before setting it down to grab his cane and effectively bopped Pinky on the head with it. The taller mouse laughed, only stopping when Brain used the cane to force his head down to look him in the eyes. "Do not leave my side without permission, Pinky. Ever. Do you understand?"

Blue eyes blinked, going wide as he realized this was a serious bop, like he'd done something wrong kind of bop. "But, Brain, what's wrong? I only wanted some breakfast, and you were sleeping so I couldn't ask you. Poit. I know you don't like it when I wake you up too early."

"I don't care if you wake me up, Pinky. I need to know where you are at all times, alright?" There was a desperate, almost pleading, lilt to Brain's tone as he tried to stay stern and commanding, dropping the cane to grip Pinky's shoulders. "Alright? Promise me, Pinky."

"Right, Brain. I promise," Pinky assured him, still not quite understanding why Brain was so upset. It wasn't like he went anywhere, he was still inside the castle and even though he got lost, the nice guards had helped him. "I'm sorry."

Brain sighed, closing his eyes. He'd even forgotten his cute little spectacles. Egad, he'd really been a mess. "It's... it's quite alright for now, Pinky. Just keep it in mind for the future." When Pinky nodded again, Brain gave his cheek a pat and released him.

At first, the smaller mouse thought it had all been a dream, that the previous day had not occurred. But he needed to make sure, needed to find him if he truly was still there. He'd come across two of his guards as he hurried through the hall, their names both started with B, he knew that much, but it wasn't until they lifted him up that he took note of their name tags. It was then that he knew it hadn't been a dream. They'd escorted Pinky to the kitchen not fifteen minutes earlier. He sent Biff to retrieve him, remaining behind with Brian as he tried to catch his breath. The scare had practically stopped his heart. It would've been the cruelest torture to have him back only to lose him again just as suddenly.

Brain blinked as he felt Pinky nudge him, pushing the thimble towards him. "You don't want your tea, Brain?"

"Ah, no I do. Thank you, Pinky." He took up the thimble and sipped at it, his entire body relaxing as the soothing liquid warmed him. Oh... he hadn't had Pinky's tea in so long and nothing could compare...

Pinky beamed as the expression of pure contentment took the place of the worry-mad face he'd been making. He clasped his hands together, rubbing his cheek against them. "And Carl's making us mouse pancakes! He's very good at it!"

Brain glanced over his shoulder, the chef trying to hide his pleased smile as he continued to flip their breakfast. "Yes, well. I only hired the best. His meals are quite enjoyable." Of course, he hadn't known his name was Carl... he actually never came in the kitchen.

"_Narf!_ I can't wait!" He clapped his hands, then picked up his own thimble to drink.

"Well, why don't we get out of... Carl's way, and wait in the dining room?" Brain suggested.

"'Kay!" Pinky nodded, waving at the chef as Biff came over to help them off the counter. "See you later, Carl!"

The pancakes had been divine. Truly a pancake wizard.

-8-8-

Brain's office was connected to Pinky's playroom, with a door just in case he needed to concentrate and Pinky's shenanigans made that impossible. Of course, today he was quite pleased to have the door open and listen to his friend's antics. He'd run on the wheel for quite a bit after breakfast, under the claim of having to work off those pancakes to keep his figure trim and slim (which Brain didn't know what he was talking about, he looked lovely already) and then he'd gone on to pretend to be Super Mouse. Brain had kept all of his old toys; even the mask and cape.

"Don't worry, townspeoples! Super Mouse will save you!" The masked mouse declared as he leapt down off the Lego tower he'd constructed. "The world will not be safe until all the chocolate milk is sealed properly and put back on the shelves of all the supermarkets! _Troz!_"

Brain listened, tapping his pencil against the desk, propping his cheek up as he leaned on his elbow. There were a series of economic reports to file, people were still trying to get used to the new currency he'd introduced, but for now he let his eyes slip shut and hummed softly as he enjoyed the sound of Pinky's playing.

"Egad! It's a licorice monster! Run everyone- no! No, comb! Don't be a hero! That's my job!" Pinky, or Super Mouse rather, cried out, then began his narration. "The intrepid hero hurried to reach the side of the brave, stupid comb. Hoping he wouldn't be too late! But the licorice monster was closing in on him! Suddenly, Super Mouse revealed his secret weapon!" Sliding back into character, he declared: "You shall be punished for your evil, mean, sticky, cavity creating ways, foul beast! Dental floss rope activate!" There was a harmless sounding crash and Brain smirked against his palm. "Bang! Zoom! Right in the kisser! Romy!"

That wasn't part of the game. Brain blinked his eyes open and got down off the desk. Peering around the door frame, he saw that his son had indeed joined Pinky. Romy was smiling at the masked mouse fondly, and Brain quickly saw why. The ridiculous creature was tangled up in his own dental floss rope.

"Hey, ma, having fun?" he asked, taken aback by the sharp "shush" he was on the receiving end of.

"I'm not Pinky, I'm Super Mouse!" He flipped the cape up as dramatically as he could with the dental floss constraining him. "But I will retrieve him for you! Super Mouse, away!"

He hopped over to duck behind one of his Lego structures and grunted as he tried to wiggle out of his costume. Brain rolled his eyes and strolled over to join Romy. The father and son exchanged glances, distracted by Pinky's reappearance as himself.

"Hi!" He chirped, waving happily.

"Hi, ma," Romy played along, waving back. "Just wanted to check up on you. How're you doing?"

"Oh, wonderful, Romy! We had a lovely breakfast of pancakes and fruit! And there are so many fun-fun silly-willy toys to play with! I love it!" Pinky hugged himself tightly, trying to contain all the happy feelings.

Yes, there were many toys. Roman snorted to himself. And Brain said Pinky had spoiled him rotten as a kid, well, where did he learn it from? Clearly he didn't practice what he preached. And all these toys came to be without the taller mouse even around. "Sounds... fun. I just came by to see if you wanted to spend the afternoon with me. You know, let dad have some time to actually concentrate on his work."

"I was concentrating!" Brain snapped immediately, cheeks coloring. Pinky laughed and Romy simply raised an eyebrow, not buying it for a minute. "It's very serious business ruling the world and I do not take it lightly."

"Of course you don't, dad," he agreed easily, living with Brain made one take up a very placating attitude. "But like you said, it's serious work. And Pinky is the opposite of serious." He gestured to him and, sure enough, Pinky was giggling as he wiggled his ears. "C'mon, pop, let him blow off some steam with me. I won't let him out of my sight."

Brain bristled, not liking the tone his own clone was taking with him. Yet... he had a point. He was not being productive at all with his cagemate in the next room. And there were plenty of guards to ensure their safety, as well as Roman's word to keep an eye on Pinky. He glanced at Pinky for a moment, the taller mouse very likely trying to see the top of his head again, and sighed. Reluctant. "Fine. We didn't get around to exploring the rest of the castle, and it would behoove him to familiarize himself with his surroundings."

"You don't have to come up with an excuse, dad." Romy smirked, rolling his eyes. "C'mon, ma. Let's go have an adventure."

"Hooray! An adventure!" Pinky cheered, running after his son. "Bye, Brain!"

"Yes, see you in a while, Pinky." He watched as the two mice fled the playroom, tapping his cane against the floor.

-8-8-

Pinky skipped along the sparkling blue tiled hall, slipping as it was freshly waxed. With a delighted squeal he went careening into the wall. Romy's lips twitched, wanting to smile at his antics, though at the same time preoccupied by his own thoughts. Something didn't seem right. It kept him up all night as he pondered. Why now? Why, after all this time, would Pinky return to them now, not a day older than when he'd vanished? Brain was willing to brush it off, but Romy supposed he could understand why, the years not being particularly kind to his glorious intellect. But the son would not, could not, just let it go.

If Pinky truly did transcend time itself... then he naturally didn't belong here. This entire present was false, created by manually removing Pinky from the equation. But why? And how?

The only person who could tell him was currently licking the wallpaper. Glarb.

"Oh, where are we going to go explore, Romy?" Pinky asked, sliding back over to him.

"Actually, ma, I wanted to show you something." Roman took hold of Pinky's wrist to guide him along. "It's in the library. I figured you'd want to see how pop took over the world, right?"

The ecstatic nod made him feel a little less guilty for dragging his parent into his ponderings. "Oh, yes! I'm sure it was the happiest day of Brain's life!"

Romy didn't respond to that, letting Pinky float around in his little fantasy world. Surely Brain had said all of his happy "yes"s and smiled a big happy smile! Sighing dreamily, Pinky placed his free hand to his cheek and let his lashes flutter. Oh, a happy Brain would be so wonderful. A mouse as kind and smart and clever and amazing as Brain deserved all the happiness.

The pair entered the library, Romy nodded to a few of the servants who were dusting and organizing the books. His grip on Pinky tightened as he took note of the way he was getting distracted by the ladders and shelves and all the many, many books. Towards the back of the library were all the periodicals, all the articles concerning Brain's day of world conquest and all the events that spiraled after it. He would show Pinky all of it, or as much of it as his mom could stomach. He needed to be aware of what had happened. He knew he'd have Pinky's support in figuring out what went awry two years ago if he knew how seriously Brain had suffered without him at his side.

Romy let go of Pinky's wrist and started climbing up the table that contained the folders and books of newspaper clippings they'd collected. Pinky followed him up without being asked, folding his arms behind his back as he strolled along the tabletop and looked around. The clone nudged a book down, catching Pinky's attention and flipped it to the first page.

"Is it storytime, Romy? Oh, I love storytime!" Pinky clasped his hands together and hopped from foot to foot.

Romy looked over at him placing a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, ma, it's storytime. It's a story about dad."

Pinky gasped quietly and stared at his son with wide eyes, rapt with attention. "Those are the best stories. Well. Except for the one with the little sad blue lamb who had no friends because he was blue, except it wasn't so sad because it turns out he was accidentally painted blue by the angels who made rainbows and so was very special and saved the day and then everyone loved him!" Hugging himself with a huge smile, Pinky ignored the eye roll from his son.

"Focus, ma." He gave his shoulder a squeeze and forced Pinky's attention back away from inside his head.

"Right, Romy. Sorry. Poit."

The clone nodded and gestured down at the book. "Look here. This is the day Brain took over the world."

Blue eyes lit up and Pinky scrambled to get a good look at the compilation of articles and pictures. The light faded quickly though, replaced by confusion. Oh, it was Brain alright, taking over the world just as he'd always wanted... but his eyes... his fur... he was a mess. It looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. He looked at the picture on the page opposite it. For this one Brain had been cleaned up, his fur no longer mussed and a cape and crown adorning him as he'd always envisioned. But the look in his eyes hadn't changed. There was no happiness in them. There was nothing... except exhaustion and a feeling sadder than sad. He didn't have the word for it.

Pinky stroked the glossy, laminated face of this young, familiar Brain, the one he'd seen just yesterday. His eyes flickered up to the headline. "Mouse Man's Salvation?" is what it read, and Pinky wondered which plan thingy had worked, but the thought was fleeting because it didn't really matter when Brain looked the way he did.

Romy watched his parent's eyes fill with tears and sighed, leaving his hand on his shoulder. "Not what you'd thought it'd be?"

"Oh, Romy!" He sniffled, thumb tracing over picture-Brain's lips. "It's all wrong! Where's Brain's smile? And his fur! Why, I'd never let him leave the lab looking like that! It's too Flock of Seagulls for him!"

Glancing at the picture, Roman found he had to agree with Pinky. He really couldn't pull it off. No, wait, stay on track. "You weren't there, ma. He didn't have anyone to tell him to brush his fur."

But how did it get that messy? It had only been a day! Was that how it got all gray too? It must've been! Brain's take over the world plan thingy must've done something awful to his fur as a result. At least he'd fixed his hairdo by now. But that didn't explain the extra sad sadness.

Romy flipped the page, then another and another. Pinky's eyes grew wider with each turn. There were so many more pictures and dates and pages. How were there so many pages? And the dates... where had all these days come from? Each picture was somehow worse than the last, the exhaustion and hopelessness so very plain on his friend's visage. Each day it got worse. He actually choked when he noticed the weight loss and the thinning fur. He wasn't taking care of himself at all! And he was alone... so very alone. Even surrounded by other fancy dignitaries, The Brain was very much alone.

"Brain," he whimpered, hugging himself as the pictures didn't seem to have an end. Thinking back to the way Brain looked the day before, when he'd first seen him in this place, his heart sank as he realized they wouldn't. They didn't end. "Stop it!" He pushed Romy out of the way and shut the book. He didn't like this story.

"This is what happened after you disappeared, ma." Romy brushed himself off, focusing his gaze on the distraught mouse. "He fell apart."

"But... but where did I go? Why wasn't I there?" Pinky gripped his ears and tugged down, unable to meet Romy's gaze. "Where did I go?"

"That's what I want to figure out. Something's not right about all of this and I need your help to find out what." He gripped Pinky's shoulders, forcing his gaze upon him. "I know you're having fun here, but something tells me you don't belong here. It's not just your age either. I have this feeling... it's very... glarb. You're not meant to be here."

Pinky shook his head, tears bright in his eyes. "No! Brain needs me! I have to stay! I have to!"

"I know he needs you, believe me, I know." Romy sighed, now the one unable to face his parent. "But what if there's a way to keep this from happening? If Snowball is really behind all this, maybe we could reverse whatever he did, put you back where you belong."

"Brain's side. I belong there!" He pointed to the book, trying in vain to hold back the well of emotions. "I'm not anywhere in there and I'm supposed to be! Even if he took over the world without me..."

"For you," Romy put in. Curious blue eyes stared at him and the clone gave his arm a squeeze. "He took over the world to find you, completely threw himself into it. I thought he was obsessive before, but... but that was nothing compared to the month between you leaving and total world domination."

Sniffling, Pinky wiped at his teary eyes. "How did he do it?"

He released him and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, he'd been failing pretty hardcore at first, I mean his plans worked and he got far, but... no one took him seriously. And in his state, he wasn't all that intimidating. He'd been about to give up, but then Snowball launched an attack on all mankind, an attack that would've left the world in shambles and, well... just really not narf, man. But no one could stop him. No one except dad."

Pinky clasped his hands together, rapt with attention and waiting for his son to finish his story. "What was he going to do?"

"Enslave the human race, he had shock collars and bombs and a robot army, it was pretty dark stuff. But dad knew how Snowball worked, and when the hamster taunted him publicly, even rubbing in the fact that you left him, well, he snapped and for a while he had some of his old spunk back. He became convinced that Snowball knew where you were. And I guess he was right in a way. Anyway, dad cracked his system, managed to shut down the evil robot army and disrupt the frequency of the shock collars. He saved the world, essentially, and won everybody over. By not trying to take over the world... he had. 'In true Pinky fashion' was what he'd told me later, once the shock wore off that everyone was pledging their allegiance to him. So, he went for it. He used his influence and managed to take over the world."

"Egad..." the taller mouse breathed, flipping over to the first page of the book to gaze at his friend on the day his destiny came true. "Brain's a hero."

"I never would've pegged him as one, but yeah. He is." Romy came up beside him to take in the picture as well, though he didn't need to, he remembered seeing his dad on the news, shocked by his appearance more so than the fact he'd taken over the world. "But it didn't matter to him, being a hero or not. He didn't care what anyone thought of him except for you. And he thought you either hated him so much that you'd never go back home to him, or you were... well..." Romy drew his finger across his neck, hoping the taller mouse would understand the gesture. From the shiver that wracked him, he assumed he had.

Pinky looked down. That he was the cause of his best friend's unhappiness... it was all him. He was the meany-mean-head who'd hurt Brain so badly and made him cry out in his sleep from scary dreams. That was unacceptable.

"_It's as if you're only here to cause me grief!"_

"No... No, I'm supposed to make Brain happy. That's all I wanted." Pinky caressed the exhausted, lonely memory of his Brain. Well... if he'd caused this whole mess, all this sadness... then he was just going to have to fix it! Ears and tail perking so suddenly, Roman was taken aback as Pinky turned to face him with a determined look on his face, smile bright. "Romy! Are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

While there was a very high chance it would be something inane, the clone had a feeling that he'd go against the odds this time and he couldn't help but smile back. "I think so, ma. Narf."

* * *

Ponderings!

Yes! Will Pinky find a way back home? Will Carl's duck pancakes be as much of a success? Will Brain ever stop being so old? And did Super Mouse get all the chocolate milk back to it's rightful place? Stay tuned! Poit!


	5. Chapter 5

His biggly-wiggly chubby-round chubby headed smarty pants bestest best friend was pacing all funny like on his desk when Pinky returned after plotting with Romy. Oh, no wonder Brain liked to do it all day long! It was quite a lot of fun! Oh, but he had important, pressing, urgent, critical, necessary matters to attend to!

Straightening his spine, assuming an impressive, serious stance, Pinky made to stride across the floor towards the megalomaniac. Only to trip on the first step and land smack on his face on the floor. Giggling as he pushed himself up, because falling on his face was always a good time, he tried again, this time with Brain's attention on him.

"Pinky, there you are." There was a slight waver in his voice, one he tried very hard to mask, but Pinky heard it regardless. As soon as he joined Brain on the desk, the smaller mouse pressed up against his side, latching onto his wrist to drag him after him.

"Hi, Brain! Poit!"

As Pinky followed happily, Romy climbed up the desk after him, just to make sure the taller mouse stayed on track. He glanced down at all the paperwork Brain should've finished in their absence, but he'd barely put a dent in the pile. He sighed, his dad was hopeless really.

"Just what sort of shenanigans were the two of you engaging in," Brain demanded more than asked. "You've been gone quite a while."

Their son rolled his eyes. "Dad, we were gone for all of forty-five minutes." Seriously? It wasn't even a full hour.

The leader of world at least had enough pride left to appear somewhat embarrassed by that. "Yes, well..." He was saved from further explanation by Pinky's enthusiastic jumping, his arm moving up and down with him as he had yet to release his hand.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! _Narf! _ Oh, Brain!" Pinky was so excited, there weren't any words in his head! He couldn't find them anywhere, all replaced by bubbling emotions.

Brain's lips twitched and he watched his friend try to contain himself before stepping in to help. "Simmer, Pinky. What is it that has you beside yourself with titillation?"

"Tittle! Oh, that's a good one, Brain!" he laughed, finally ceasing his bouncing to grasp both of Brain's hands in his own. Blue eyes sparkled with hopeful inspiration and Brain found himself captivated, making Pinky giggle more. Oh, he needed to remember this whenever he wanted attention. It worked rather well. "Romy and I had a pondering! And it was the same thing! Zort! We figured out how to fix it all! Make all the bad-sad things go far away."

Whether it was due to aging's inevitable decay of his mind or simply Pinky's incoherency, Brain couldn't quite tell as he struggled to keep up with his cagemate. "Come again?"

"We can fix it, Brain, make everything happy again like it's supposed to be!" Tail wagging incessantly, Pinky pressed his nose to Brain's. "And we don't even need a magic school bus. Or a can of fried worms. Or Oprah."

"Pinky, what are you babbling about?" He gave up on trying decipher the noise that spilled from his lips, focusing very much on the noise so he could ignore the terribly distracting lips.

"To make you happy again, Brain," Pinky repeated, squeezing their hands. They fit together oh so nicely. "I just have to go back in time!"

The happy 'yes!' he'd been expecting didn't come. No happy things did. Instead of smiling, Brain gripped the fur of Pinky's chest and pulled him down roughly; fear flashing for a moment in the sharp pink stare before hardening into anger. "I told you, you mustn't leave my side, Pinky! You will not, under any circumstances, be going anywhere! Is that clear?"

Pinky's ears fell flat and his eyes widened. Egad, how confusing! He wouldn't be leaving Brain's side, he'd be returning to it! Well.. he'd be leaving this one here, yes... but Romy said that was okay! "But, Brain-!"

"No, 'buts', Pinky. I will not allow it!" The grip became a desperate embrace, his arms winding around him neck to cling. "I will not allow it," he repeated in a whisper.

Hugging him back, the taller mouse glanced between his cagemate and their clone, his eyes asking for some kind of direction. This wasn't at all how it was supposed to go. "Dad, just hear us out-"

"It's for you, Brain," Pinky continued, nuzzling him, "If I go back to the tomorrow night with the coupons-"

"It'll be like he never left." Romy didn't exactly trust Pinky to articulate it any better than that. He was already pushing his limits for staying on topic and making sense. "Dad, don't you see the narfness of it?"

The Brain of two years ago would have seen the logic, the 'narfness', would have agreed that it made perfect sense, but Brain of the here and now couldn't shake the thought that he'd be left alone. Again.

So he selfishly clung tighter to his companion, his mind slowly whirring back to life as he contemplated more ways to entice Pinky to stay with him. Had there been anything he'd forgotten to add to the castle? Perhaps he'd get him those private ballet lessons he'd always wanted... no. He ruled the world, he could get him his own ballet studio, his own theatre and have him star in all the performances if that was what he wanted.

"If we, and by 'we' I mean you, built a time machine, we could send ma back and it would be like none of this ever happened!" Romy attempted to rationalize this for his father, setting his hand on his shoulder. "He doesn't belong here, dad. And the you of two years ago doesn't belong alone."

"The me of two years ago doesn't deserve him." The snap had sapped him of his energy, making his words quieter but they still carried a venomous bite. How many times had he made Pinky cry? Run away? Too many to count, and even if he was returned this time, who was to say that there wouldn't be another fight, another thoughtless outburst that would chase away his treasured companion?

His tired muscles couldn't keep their hold on him as Pinky pulled away. Brain made a soft sound in protest, one he would vehemently deny making if ever asked about it. Kneeling down in front of him, Pinky gazed at him with a mixture of concern and mixture of hurt. "Please don't talk like that about my Brain, Brain."

"But..." He belonged to _him_. He had to live without him for so long, he couldn't do it again, he just couldn't. He was so tired already, all of his energy came from seeing this mouse smile. To lose it again just wasn't fair. Lose it to his past self who hadn't yet learned how precious a soul he had tied to him. How could Pinky want him? Want the abuse and the cruelty and the constant dismissal? He could give him so much more, anything he ever wanted, and told him as much.

It took a lot of effort, he could tell, for Pinky to manage the watery smile. "I want my Brain. The one I woke up next to yesterday. I want to help him take over the world so he won't have to stand in the pictures all by himself. I want to give him hugs and make him smile and make sure he doesn't have bad hair days for his public appeal-ances..." he sniffled, wary of squeezing Brain's shoulders too tightly, so fragile. And old. "I want my Brain."

Oh... The Brain ran his fingers through the fur of Pinky's chest, unable to continue meeting those tearful eyes. So there was something he couldn't give him. Even with his massive intellect, he did not have the power nor capabilities to revert to that state. His gaze flicked up to examine Pinky's. He really did miss the younger him... and that was fair enough, he supposed. Two years changed a person quite a bit with a lifespan as short as theirs.

"Pinky... please..." he tried once more, knowing full well he didn't have the heart to deny him. "I can make you happy as well, can't I?"

Poor, silly, sad ol' Brain. He was just getting more con-fused, wasn't he? "Poit. Of course you can, Brain. And you do. But I also want to make you happy, and... and I just can't. Not when you've been sad for so long. _Troz._ But I can fix it. I really can, Brain." He rubbed their noses together. "And I don't get to fix things that often. I usually break them."

His lips couldn't help but twitch at that. "Not usually, Pinky. Only sometimes."

"_Zort. _ I think you and I have different rememberings, Brain."

Brain also couldn't help pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Oh, Pinky, there is no doubt in my mind that we have different 'rememberings' for a plethora of events," he assured him, bringing his hands up to cup his cheeks. The warmth he felt pleased him, as did the way Pinky's tail swayed at a slower, more content pace and his eyelids fluttered shut.

"Dad, just try to see this rationally. You're good at that." Though rationality could never be applied when Pinky was involved. "I know you know as well as I do that he doesn't belong here, in this time. Send him back. Build a time machine and send him back. We know you can do that." Romy leaned in close to his father, lowering his voice in the hopes that Pinky wouldn't hear or wouldn't understand. "Don't take the years he could've spent with you away from him. What would he do with himself once you and I are gone?"

Squeezing his eyes shut, The Brain had to admit that the thought had crossed his mind. He could enhance Pinky's lifespan by years, yes, but they would be years spent alone. For even he, the most brilliant mind in all of history, could not stave off death forever. Yet another thing he could not give his companion.

He touched their foreheads together and Pinky's eyes opened as his did. "You really want to go back? That is truly what you want?"

"Poit. Truly dually spooly newly truly," he affirmed. He wanted to make sure Brain never looked like he did in those pictures. Never had to eat alone, never had to miss him, never had to sleep in a big ol' bed all by himself.

Sighing in resignation, Brain nodded and gave his cheek a pat. "Then it shall be done."

First thing in the morning, he would set about erasing this melancholy future. He'd lose the world, lose this existence, but Pinky will never have gone away. And he was The Brain, he could easily attain the world and their castle by some other means, but he'd learned quite quickly that he could never attain another Pinky.

-8-8-

Oh, it was so fun-fun silly-willy helping Brain build his time maaaaachiiiine! And by helping, of course he meant dancing around and getting in the way. What he does best! Narf!

Pinky giggled dragging the tape measure around the the sparkly blue floor, trying to see how big his lovely donut chandelier was. Because it was gianormous! But the tape measure kept following him as he went, like a happy puppy or a boomerang, so he couldn't figure out exactly how big, but he figured really big was a good estimate.

But he had to stop dancing around so much because it was distracting Brain. Every now and then he'd stop working on his machiney doobop-a-doo to watch him with a small smile, which made Pinky happy but at the same time sad. Because the smile wasn't a completely happy smile like smiles should be. And he knew it was because he didn't want to finish the machine and send Pinky away.

He felt awful about it, he really did! He didn't want Brain to be sad and he certainly didn't want him to feel like he wasn't loved. It was because he loved him that he had to go, so that this would never happen. That's what Romy told him and his son was a smarty like Brain.

But he couldn't go and make him happy if he didn't build his machiney thingy!

"Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work _you _go!" Pinky sing-songed, pointing as sternly as possible at his cagemate. But the thought of being stern and how it rhymed with churn which made him think of butter which was delicious on toast which came from toasters and toasters were simply high-larious because they went pop like weasels made him fall into a helpless fit of laughter that was further distracting to the megalomaniac.

He collapsed on the smooth blue tiles beside Brain, giggling madly and watched as pink eyes rolled fondly. A pat to his chest to humor him, then it became a gentle caress until Pinky's chest stopped heaving. "Are you finished?"

"Ummm... haha-_ narf!_ I think so," he replied, flashing an adoring smile that melted his friend's heart.

"You sure about that?" More giggles spilled out as his tummy and sides were tickled. "It doesn't sound like you are, does it, Pinky?" The taller mouse couldn't answer for laughing, and Brain only let up once his cheeks glowed with that bright red color to reach up, patting it tenderly. "You are a baffling, silly creature, my friend. But I wouldn't have you any other way."

Wiggling with delight, Pinky beamed up at him, finally catching his breath. "Ohhhh! I wouldn't have you any other way either, Br-!" He cut himself off, watching as the weathered face fell slightly. "Brain... poit..." The response was just so ingrained in him, and he really wouldn't want Brain to change a bit, but he could see how he'd feel like he was being replaced. In a really weird kaleidoscope kind of way. Woo, all those colors and cracker jack.

Giving one last pat, Brain nudged him a little so he'd roll away. "Alright, Pinky, I must finish my work on this. Make yourself useful and..." he trailed off, not wanting to send his companion away like he was want to do in the past, but he really couldn't concentrate with him bouncing around. He was practically begging to be watched. Adored. "Prepare some tea for us."

"Right, Brain!" Pinky nodded, rocking up into a seated position and saluted with the wrong hand. "Be back in a skippy!"

"A skippy?" Brain blinked behind his spectacles, arching a brow.

"Yes, a skippy. People say jiffy so often, I felt like the other brands of peanut butter should be given some love too," Pinky explained honestly, grabbing onto his toes and knocking his feet together.

Sighing, the megalomaniac nodded. "Of course you did." And he had so much love to give. "Hurry along then, Pinky."

"'Kay!" And away he went, humming a little tune as he pranced off.

With the distraction of his cagemate gone, Brain was able to effectively concentrate on exactly what it was he was doing. Building a time machine. Oh, yes, it was a simple task, he'd entertained the thought of constructing one more times than he could count over the years. Go back to that night, stop himself from saying those cruel things... but part of him, a rather large part that surely had been infected by Pinky's morality, felt as if he'd be manipulating Pinky's feelings.

If the taller mouse had run away because he honestly had enough of him, well... he didn't want to force him to remain at his side if it only made him miserable. Pinky should return to him because he wanted to, that's what he'd come to believe. He became so tangled up in this belief that he'd even come to assume that Pinky loathed him for all he'd done. Deliberately hiding from any and all search attempts; unless he were dead... but a body was never found.

He shook his head, tightening a screw. None of those past thoughts mattered now. Pinky hadn't even intended to run away, he'd been coming back to apologize for ruining the pretty coupon book and making him mad, when he'd been zapped away to... here. Time was a mysterious, hazardous thing to tamper with. And phenomenal, Brain's intellect had to appreciate the intricacies, even if he himself did not. For Pinky, mere seconds passed. For himself, an eternity.

It was fortunate his intellect was so invested in this project. As he drew up the plans, his mind whirred to life in ways it hadn't for months, his body quivering as ideas just came to him. Designs, formulae, everything a genius ought to keep stashed away. It was refreshing to be so involved in an invention of some kind. Once the castle had been completed, there hadn't been much left for him to tinker with. He hadn't quite realized how much he missed it.

Now... where was that hybrid fluxometer?

As Brain started digging through his materials, the stomping of boots alerted him to the presence of several guards hurrying to stand at attention. The commander stopped in front of him and saluted, the megalomaniac surveying the large group with a skeptical once-over. "Yes, what is it," he demanded, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently. He didn't have time to dilly-dally; Pinky wanted a time machine.

"Emperor Brain, sir!" The commander stood at attention. "The enemy Snowball has been located and captured!"

Pink eyes widened and, in a flurry of of blueprints, dashed over to his soldiers, motioning for the commander to kneel down and take him up. "_Where is he?_"

"He's being detained in the western holding facility. We can escort you there immediately if you wish." He was informed, and Brain wished for nothing else at that moment.

A dark look entered his eyes and he twisted his cane in his hands. "Take me to him."

"Yes, sir!"

"Brain?"

Over the cacophony of boots against the tiled floor, only Paul heard the hesitant inquiry, glancing down to spy the lanky mouse hovering in the doorway, hugging a packet of sugar and a packet of Splenda to his chest. Suddenly blue eyes lit up and he beamed up at Paul, the only one to pay him any mind.

"Is this a parade? Oh, I love parades! They always have the cutest Cheetos!" he laughed, swaying side to side with his sweetener packets.

The guard glanced from the imbecilic mouse to the commander, where Brain was perched, but he was already too far ahead. He could not ask if it was appropriate to take him along. So he took it upon himself to bend down and allow Pinky to step onto his palm. Tossing the sweetener aside, he leapt onto the proffered hand.

"Oh, I get to be part of the parade, Paul? Oh, fun-fun silly-willy! _Narf!_" He clapped, tail wagging. "And Brain will finish the timey clocky banana boat muffin when we come back, right?"

"Yes, I'm sure he will," the guard humored him, not entirely sure what their emperor would be engaging in once brought face to face with the enemy he'd been seeking for so long.

Following the rest of the troops, he couldn't help but roll his eyes when Pinky began singing "When the Saints Come Marching In" to the tune of "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt". "Oh, I hope Frito-Lay will be there too!"


	6. Chapter 6

The holding facilities were not attached to the castle. The Brain would not have allowed criminals to be in such close quarters to his companion, and knew Pinky would not have approved. Not in their bouncy bubble boat castle.

The western facility was the closest to the castle and the most heavily guarded, it took mere minutes to transport the emperor, but for him it seemed as if they couldn't get there fast enough. Clenching his fists, he stared hard and long at the building looming in front of him. Snowball was in there. The person responsible for-! He grit his teeth, rubbing his temple and shook his head. No, he couldn't lose his composure. Couldn't afford that hamster the satisfaction of seeing him in such a primal rage. No, not at first anyway.

The caravan of cars parked outside and Brain was escorted in by the best of his guards. Save for Paul, who had followed close behind in another car, listening to the mouse who had somehow become his charge over the past three days prattle on about nothing and everything. He attempted to catch up to his liege, but Brain made sure to keep moving. He needed to get this over with.

Several hallways, turns, and doorways later and they were there. Folding his spectacles rather calmly, because he would not face him in any sort of decaying state, he left them in the care of the commander along with his cane. He cleared his throat, nothing more needed to be said, and another high ranking officer punched in the code to the interrogation room before holding his palm out for Brain to step onto. No one simply picked up the world's leader. He went where he pleased, when he pleased.

With a click, the door opened, revealing the sterile room and long table. Six armed guards stood around it, their attention split between the arrival of their ruler and the graying hamster confined to the table in a cage. Brain's lips twitched in grim approval. No one belonged in a cage more than he.

"Emperor Brain, may we present your prisoner." He was placed on the table and he began his slow, calculating stride towards his once-friend, once-rival, now-enemy. "Snowball, leader of the American rebellion."

"Yes." Brain stood at a distance to allow his eyes the freedom to rove up and down the aged hamster, committing each weary line to memory, before stepping closer. He would not let his declining eyesight prevent him from being intimidating. "Leave us."

The six guards looked at one another. "But, sir-"

"He is bound and locked inside a reinforced, steel cage that requires a code only I have access to. He can't do anything." Pink eyes narrowed and he smirked darkly, but the hamster seemed unfazed. "Leave the intercom on if you must. I will call for you should I need any assistance." But he wouldn't. Oh, no, he had him right where he wanted. Completely at his mercy.

"Yes, sir." The guards bowed out, exiting the room once they lowered the sheet metal that covered the expansive glass window so they could observe from the outside. As the closed the door, Paul and several others finally caught up, Pinky perched on the soldier's shoulder.

Blue eyes blinked curiously when he saw his friend on the other side of the glass panel, then he smiled brightly and waved. Oh, Brain was on the TV! A really big TV! Maybe it was a movie he was starring in, oh, that'd be just like him. Television shows wouldn't suit his bigness! "Brain!" he chirped, on the receiving end of several looks from the other members of the guard, but he quieted as his friend's voice crackled above them through the speakers. Oh, the movie was starting. Please silence your cell phones and pagers before we silence you! He giggled, forcing his entire attention on him. But the giggles didn't last for long.

"Hmph. You thought you had me fooled, didn't you?" Brain's chuckle sounded off as Pinky watched him pace in front of a cage. But he couldn't recognize whoever was in it. An evil ferret perhaps? No, ferrets looked like ferrets, not hamsters. "Do you take me for a fool, Snowball?"

Egad! Snowball? Now it was getting good. The movie had been off to a slow start, but it was quickly redeeming itself. Pinky never would've guessed Snowball was the man in the iron mask.

Snowball's eyes followed him easily, still unperturbed, and said nothing. Brain's ears twitched in agitation, expecting some kind of smart remark. "Clearly your auditory processors have failed you in the atrophy of your existence."

"Oh, not at all, Brain. I can hear you quite clearly." The hamster smirked, the gleam in his eyes identical to that of a cat preying on a helpless creature.

Brain stiffened, arching an eyebrow. This... smug behavior was quite unexpected. But nothing he couldn't handle. "Then perhaps your feeble mind is incapable of keeping up with my vast intellect. Do you need me to slow down for you? Enunciate my words?"

"Quite the contrary really. I'm growing weary of the pace at which your mind insists upon working at. It simply occurred to me; why should I waste the energy to answer a question you and I both know the answer to? Of _course_ I think you're a fool, Brain. Why should that have changed over the years?" His lips spread further as he noticed Brain's fur bristle and his eye twitch. Oh, he could still play him so easily.

The megalomaniacal mouse clenched his jaw, but continued to hold his head high. "How typical of you, Snowball. Projecting your feelings of inadequacy onto my person."

"Inadequacy?" He sounded amused, looked it as well.

Brain leaned in close, his own smirk forming. "I'm not the one in a cage."

"Oh, silly me, how did I miss that minor detail?" Snowball rolled his eyes, would've gestured to his surroundings were his arms not bound behind his back. "Yes, well, you certainly bested me, Brain. That makes twice now, doesn't it? To what? My infinity?"

"In your world of delusions, perhaps. Yet I am the one who has the entire world at his command while you watch." Knowing his cagemate was back at his side enhanced his pride over that particular fact. "I now have _everything._ And you," he scoffed, "You have nothing."

"Ah, yes, your little plaything has been returned to you then? Safe and sound?" The bars of the cage rattled angrily in front of him, Brain's fists clenched tight around the bars as his lips curled in a snarl. "Oh, yes, I know, Brain," Snowball continued in his patronizing tone. "You missed him, didn't you? Like a selfish child, being forced to share his toys."

"Shut up," Brain growled lowly, trembling.

The graying-gold hamster lifted a brow. "Oh, I'm sorry, is that insulting? Don't want your precious idiot compared to an object designed for others' amusement?"

"_Shut up_."

"Tsk, tsk, Brain. What happened to that superior intellect with your massive vocabulary?" Snowball shook his head slowly, grin broadening as the mouse slammed his fist against the bars. "Such primitive behavior. Has his presence really caused you to regress so far?"

Pushing away from the cage, he began to pace furiously, mind whirring so rapidly due to rage and he was unable to fixate on any one thought. How dare he? How _dare _he? Ripping his Pinky away from him, _his_, and having the gall to stand there and laugh about it. "You disgust me."

"I would be quite disappointed if you felt otherwise."

With reflexes neither had been aware Brain possessed, even in his prime, his arm jerked out and he fisted his fingers in Snowball's fur, yanking him forward into the bars. The hamster winced and Brain was pleased. "You _knew_," he hissed. "You knew this whole time where he was and _why_."

"Of course, I did." He recovered well enough from the sudden grip. "And while I've never pegged you as particularly bright, Brain, even I am aghast that it took you this long to realize it-" he was cut off by a choked squeak as Brain squeezed.

"You took him from me." His voice was dangerous, the same as the gleam in his eyes and the tension in his body. "I can't even fathom what I could possibly take from you that would be equivalent in meaning." Oh, but he could try.

"It... wasn't my... intention..." Snowball croaked out. "It was... meant for you."

"I've been made aware." He could feel his blood boiling under his skin, never before had he wanted to bash anyone upside the head. Not even Pinky in all his inanity. The thought of his cagement only fueled the fire that consumed him, and he felt months younger. Stronger. His grip tightened. "So why didn't you fix your folly?"

"It..." Snowball cringed, but despite the nagging worry that ate at him with this intensity Brain displayed, he managed to smirk. "It... was too delicious to watch... you fall apart... pathetic...!"

For a moment, The Brain could only see red. He could barely hear the wheezing, choked gasps for the blood rushing in his ears, pounding in his skull. Tap tap tap tap taptaptaptaptap!

Wait... that wasn't a pounding in his skull. It was a pounding from outside. A new fury filled him. How dare one of these foolish humans attempt to stop him! Didn't they know who he was? He was their leader! If he wanted to execute someone, then he was going to-

Pinky was pressed against the glass, his palm smacking the barrier keeping them apart. Brain's ears fell and the rage drained out of him so quickly, it made him a little dizzy. Big, blue eyes were wide with worry and... and fear. He was afraid of him.

Brain had to turn away, his grip growing lax as he heard Snowball cough and regain a regular breathing pattern. Pinky... Pinky was here? Why was Pinky here? Who thought to allow his innocent, adorably idiotic companion to come here? Sighing heavily, feeling the weight of his age drag him down, he wearily glared at the hamster in front of him.

The glare only intensified when he noticed where Snowball was looking. Growling protectively, he stepped in front of his field of vision, blocking Pinky from his sight.

The hamster was nonplussed. "Right on schedule."

"What are you going on about, you filthy cretin?" he grumbled, trying to ignore the shaking in his legs and the blurred lines of the cage and Snowball's face.

Snowball smiled slowly at him. "Why, Brain... you can't possibly think my being here is simple coincidence, can you?"

-8-8-

The metal door slammed and Brain watched as the cage carrying his enemy was carted away. He'd be executed, of course, but when or how would not be privy to him. With his moral compass only a few feet away, he couldn't bring himself to know any of that. So he trusted the commander to do what he thought would be best.

Snowball was simply too much of a risk to be kept alive.

And if sending Pinky back in time changed the future... well, then, he really didn't kill anyone, did he? But now to deal with his cagemate. He motioned for his cane and spectacles, annoyed with how much of a relief it was to his taxed body to have them back in his possession. Slowly, he turned around, spying the blue eyed mouse on one of the guard's shoulders.

"Pinky, I-" but the megalomaniac cut himself off when he noticed the way his ears immediately fell flat and he flinched. Just at the sound of his voice...

He couldn't help it. He'd tried not to, but Brain's voice had become so very frightening during the movie. It didn't sound like him at all. Or, it did, but not with the words or tone that he was used to. And then he'd started doing something to hurt Snowball. He could hear all the choky noises, like the kind he made when he swallowed all that dental floss and Brain had to carefully pull it out of his mouth. It was a shame too, the floss had tasted like minty spaghetti. But it had been a very scary feeling. And even though Snowball was a very mean hamster, he wouldn't even wish such a feeling on him.

Especially if it meant Brain was the one making him feel like that. Brain wasn't supposed to be scary. He was his wonderfully, chubby, smarty, fun-fun, bestest best friend that he loved more than anything ever, not a scary meanie-head who said scary meanie-head things. He didn't want him to turn into Shel Gibbon with those phone messages and all the angry yelling that ended up in all the tabloids and on TV Guide channel's top 20 celebrity scandals. Because Brain was a celebrity now, being ruler of the world made him the most important celebrity ever! Oh, he hoped he didn't start having scandals or getting mean. That would be almost as bad as getting old and saggy-baggy.

Twisting his tail as Brain approached him, Pinky was plucked up and placed on the same palm as his friend. He watched as the sad, weary mouse placed his hand over one of Pinky's. "I'm sorry, Pinky. Don't be afraid."

His voice was gentle, if a little croaky. But he was old. He couldn't help that. "Oh, Brain... I'm not afraid of you... just the you that was on the TV. _Zort._ By the way, great surround sound system! Everything was crystal clear! As if I was right there with the action." Pinky pointed to the glass panel, though the shorter mouse didn't even turn. Instead he stroked his thumb over the back of Pinky's hand until he stopped his nervous wringing and released his tail. Their fingers entwined and he gave his hand a squeeze. "Brain?"

"I'm not entirely sure how you do it, Pinky," he murmured, brushing his lips against the back of his hand. "But never stop."

"Stop what?" His brow scrunched up and he tilted his head, though his eyes never left their hands. His cheeks grew warm, watching Brain pull back and pat lightly.

"All that you are." There was a sad smile in Brain's eyes that never reached his face, but left Pinky with an empty feeling inside. The way jack-o-lanterns must feel after all their seeds and strings are taken out. "Pinky, listen. I want you to understand that everything I do, _everything_," he emphasized with an intense glimmer in his eyes and a squeeze to his hand, "I do for you." The taller mouse could only stare at him dumbfounded. "Are you comprehending what I'm saying? Do you understand?" A slow nod was his answer, and even that was a lot for Pinky to manage as his mind tried to sort through all these important words. "Good. Never forget that. Even when I'm at my cruelest, even when I snap and bring you to tears," he reached up, an effort for his weakening muscles, but he brushed off Pinky's attempt to bend down to make it easier for him. Brain's palms felt soft and worn at the same time as they cupped his cheeks. "You are still so, so important to me."

His throat felt dry and his tongue heavy. Pinky just didn't know what to say. His heart was beating everywhere. In his chest, in his ears, even in his tail. It was lovely to hear, but a part of him couldn't quite latch onto it. It was his Brain, but it wasn't and it just made his insides feel like a Rubix cube before Brain got a hold of it. All the colors everywhere and separate. He clutched his belly. He didn't want to come all separated.

Thumbs stroking gently, Brain brought their noses together briefly before releasing him and taking a step back. With a pat to the side, he jerked his cane in Paul's direction. "Come, now, Pinky. Back to the castle so I may complete your time machine. And find out how you ended up here in the first place." Pinky didn't see the way his eyes narrowed, as he was still caught up in his whirly-twirly head.

"Wuh- well, I wanted to come see the parade, Brain." He followed, more like was dragged, from shoulder to shoulder until they'd reached Pinky's favorite guard. "Paul was nice enough to take me. Poit. Since you were gone and all. I came back to ask you if you wanted Splenda or sugar in your tea 'cause there was no more honey."

Brain paused and Pinky gazed at him curiously. In the wake of Snowball's capture, he'd quite forgotten all about the tea. The lanky mouse could see it in his eyes. The aged mouse glanced over, his cheeks lightly flushed, ashamed for being so quick to lose his sense. But it had been Snowball, the mad hamster behind the years of worrying, the years of wondering. Was he expected to act in any other way?

Clearing his throat, he supposed he could be lenient on Paul's scolding. He had, after all, taken care of his companion. "Yes, well... I apologize for my sudden absence..."

"Oh, don't worry, Brain! I understand," Pinky assured him, beaming brightly. "You're a big super ruler of everything! Duty calls, right? Do you have her number? Poit. I think I'd like to give her a call sometime. It seems to me like she's the one who always has to call everybody, which isn't very fair, is it, Brain?"

Pink eyes rolled as he tugged his friend down to his level, rapping his knuckles on his head gently. "Enough, Pinky. Save some of the stuffing in your head for later. You might need it to cushion a fall."

"_Zort._ Oh. Is it Thanksgiving already?" He tilted his head and Brain shook his head. Such a special soul indeed.


	7. Chapter 7

Pinky could barely contain his excitement, hopping from foot to foot as he clasped his hands together, laying them aside his cheek. The time ma-doodle was almost finished! It had taken Brain longer than his usual plan thingies, but he understood that it was because he was all old and creaky and got tired a lot faster than usual. He still finished it within two days! Or would have it finished. Now that Romy was helping, it would be done faster than he could say pneu-mono-ultra-micro-scopic-silico-volcano-koniosis! It was the longest word in the English language. And Pinky had no idea how to say it! Or spell it... egad, it probably wasn't a very good word to use for "faster than you can say..." then, was it? Oh, he'd change to turnip.

"Turnip!" Pinky chirped, holding onto his toes as he rocked back and forth.

Brain spared him a glance over his spectacles, attempting to appear annoyed or uninterested, but the upward twitch of his lips betrayed him if only for a moment. Still, Pinky saw it. "What nonsense are you sputtering now?"

"Pah-new-mah-no-ultra-my-crow-ska-pick-seal-icko-volcano-no-cony-osis!"

Romy and Brain exchanged startled expressions, neither willing to bother deciphering whatever it was the taller mouse had uttered. Or what that had to do with turnips. "Nevermind, Pinky. Go back to your vegetation exclamations."

"Rutabega!" he giggled, spouting off things just for the sport of it, long-since forgotten why he'd started saying these words in the first place.

Brain shook his head and turned the wrench several times before he was satisfied with how tight it was. "And that should do it."

"It's finished?" Pinky was up in a flash, hovering over his cagemate's shoulder as his blue eyes sparkled.

Lips twitching, the megalomaniac reached up to pat his friend's cheek. "It's finished."

An ecstatic gasp his only warning, Brain found himself breathless as he was swept up in a tight, loving embrace. "Oh, thank you! Thank you, Brain! _Narf!_"

"Y-yes," he wheezed, weakly struggling in his grasp. "Pinky- I can't breathe."

"Oh. Poit." Pinky released him, though took the time to set him on the ground gently instead of dropping him gracelessly. "Sorry, Brain." He started brushing him off as if he'd gotten dirty somewhere along the lines.

The Brain rubbed his chest, casting his companion a look before rolling his eyes and waving him off. "Don't worry yourself, my dear. It's fine." Pinky giggled shyly, and he watched the stern look melt right of the shorter mouse's face. Oh, he could make the scowly-scowls go away with just a laugh? He muffled a couple more with his hands and wiggled with delight as the exasperation became fondness. Which then became sorrow. So quickly became the most despondent expression Pinky had ever been on the receiving end of. His laughter quickly died, oh he hated how making Brain happy was making him sad at the same time.

The hug he gave this time was much gentler and soft, with Brain remaining on the ground as Pinky bent over to nuzzle him and bury his face between his shoulder blades. "Sorry, Brain," he repeated, choked up and regretful.

"No." Brain swallowed thickly, his fingers hesitating on the taller mouse's arms, whether to curl in his fur to keep him close or push him away to let him go. "You have no reason to be sorry, Pinky."

"But I don't like making you feel bad." He rubbed his nose against his back.

Sighing, Brain gave his hands a pat. "Trust me, you do nothing of the sort."

He took a moment to enjoy being held by the precious mouse he couldn't bear to send from his side. But logically it made sense. He'd be preventing this future by sending him back. He'd never know the grief and loneliness that a lack of Pinky in his life had brought him. One ear twitched and he sent a half-hearted glare towards his son, who'd been clearing his throat rather noisily and jerking his thumb in the direction of the time machine. Yes, well...

"Come, Pinky. It's time for you to-" he was cut off at the sound of storming boots echoing throughout the foyer. The three mice exchanged looks, then climbed up to the top of the time machine.

Paul and several other guards raced towards them. "Sir! The hamster has escaped!"

"What?" Brain's fur bristled, his eyes widening for a split second behind the spectacles before narrowing. "What do you mean he's escaped?"

As one of the guards in charge of keeping an eye on the cell Snowball had been kept in, Pinky's ear twitched as he heard something behind him. The taller mouse turned around, blue eyes blinking curiously as he ignored the scared, bumbling excuses and apologies the officer was offering Brain. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary, but he was sure he heard something. His gaze lifted to the donut chandelier. The pretty sparklies distracted him for a moment, but then he saw it. The flash of fur. Graying, but still honey-colored.

"Egad!" Pinky stumbled back into Romy, pointing up as the hamster lifted another ray gun like thingy. "I found him, Brain!"

"Get down, guys!" The clone pushed down on Pinky's shoulder, accidentally sending him sprawling to the floor as the laser beamed right over where the pair of them had been standing.

Before Brain had stumbled even slightly, one of the guards shot at the chandelier, sending a hailstorm of crystal raining down on the polished blue tile. And Pinky. "Careful!" The world leader hollered, gripping his cane tightly as his panicked gaze flitted between the clearly crazed hamster and the thing he cherished most.

"Sir, we must take him down," one of the guards declared, as another fired a second shot towards Snowball, who managed to avoid it as another donut shattered. Brain silently prayed that his friend wouldn't look up, but as luck would have it, Pinky did just that. While he had the sense to close his eyes before any shards fell into them, but he let out a small whine as one sliced his cheek. He ducked down, backing up to seek shelter behind the time machine.

"Stop shooting!" Brain glared at the man responsible for the last shot, fire in his eyes. "You're gonna get us all killed!" He growled when he heard Snowball's infernal laughter, rage boiling inside him. "Find some other manner to apprehend him! He's a hamster, he can't get that far!" Another laser shot past, and Brain could tell he was clearly aiming for Pinky. "Snowball!"

"Not going soft are you, Brain?" Came the teasing response. Brain trembled with anger, clenching his cane so hard he could feel it bend in his grasp. The treacherous, maniacal hamster. He was trying to _kill _his Pinky.

"Dad!" Brain blinked as his attention was grabbed by his son, gesturing frantically at the time machine. "Send him back! Now!"

Right. Of course. If he sent him back, then the danger would pass as well. Were he a few months younger, he could've easily made the jump down from the top of the time machine, but with his joints the way they were, he had to carefully climb down, losing precious time as Snowball fired another shot at Pinky and the guards tried frantically to find a way to reach the hamster without putting their leader and his family at risk. But despite the hamster's age, he was surprisingly agile and capable of avoiding their aim and capture.

"Braaaaiiin!" Pinky wailed once the shorter mouse was back on the floor, latching onto him and Brain's stomach lurched as he caught sight of the blood dripping down Pinky's cheek. "Brain! Mean ol' Snowball's breaking the donut chandelier!"

It wasn't until his palm was cupping Pinky's face that he realized his hands were shaking. "Oh, Pinky..."

"Dad, hurry!" Romy came around to the two of them, pushing a button to start up the machine.

Brain's ears twitched, disgruntled at being ordered around, but his son was right. Without any more preamble, he input the date Pinky had gone missing, guesstimating the approximate time. A few more flicks of his wrist and a long-winded encryption, and a portal to the past opened before them.

"_Pinky! Pinky, where are you? Stop this foolishness at once! You know I didn't mean any of it! Pinky!" _ Through the ripple of time, the three mice had a perfect window into the past, seeing the laboratory and a much younger Brain before them. A younger, despairing Brain who was turning the lab upside down in search of his friend. _"Pinky! Pinky, I'm sorry!"_

The taller mouse's heart leapt into his throat. "Brain," he whispered, his eyes widening and his tail erect. "Brain! _Narf! _ I'm here, Brain!"

"Alright, ma, go through." Romy nudged him forward, using his other hand to keep his father from stopping him. They couldn't waste this opportunity.

Pinky nodded and took a step forward, only to jump when the next laser beam that was fired was not aimed at him. It hit the time machine, blowing it to pieces and disrupting the portal to his time. "No! No, Brain!" Despairing, Pinky dove towards the fading portal, watching it flicker out right before he landed face first on the blue tile floor.

Brain clutched the fur over his heart, aching as he listened to his friend's heartbreaking cries. Above him, Snowball continued laughing. "This isn't the end, Brain! Just you watch, I always win!" With that, the hamster managed to swing from the chandelier and out an open window. A stampede of guards abandoned the foyer to chase him down, a select few remaining to protect the emperor and his family.

Romy, for once, growled with frustration and kicked at a singed component of the device. "Glarb!"

Grinding his teeth together, Brain glanced between the open window and Pinky's slumped form. The lanky mouse was looked around for the portal, his eyes filling with tears as he came up with nothing. He crawled forward a bit, on his hands and knees as he whimpered, ears falling back as he slowly turned to gaze at Brain over his shoulder. The megalomaniac's lowered as well, the fury in him being set aside in the face of Pinky's distress. It wouldn't do any good to be angry, not when there were tears sliding down his cheeks and a cut that needed to be tended to.

"Pinky," he sighed heavily, feeling extremely weary all of a sudden, and shuffled over with his cane to kneel beside his friend. He ran his fingers through the fur of his side, but the taller mouse scooted away, ducking his head. "Pinky."

"He needs me, and I'm not there," Pinky whispered brokenly, staring hard at the floor. "Oh, I'm an absolutely wretched friend!"

This time he let Brain place his hand against him. "Stop that. You're nothing of the kind." The megalomaniac's brow furrowed as he cupped Pinky's uninjured cheek and made him look him in the eyes. "If anything, I was the wretched friend. You're not at fault for trying to protect me, Pinky. You didn't leave on purpose, you know that."

"But I wasn't supposed to leave at all!"

"No, and I know that." He stroked away some of the tears with his thumb. "Though you had every reason to-"

"Stop saying things like that!" Pinky threw himself on the ground, burying his face in his arms.

Brain blinked at him, his hands hanging in the air from where he'd been trying to offer comfort. Some things never changed he supposed, sighing as he rubbed his brow tiredly. His eyes met those of his son and he waved him on, wanting a semblance of privacy with his friend. He couldn't do anything about the guards, they were a necessity, but it would be somewhat less mortifying with their clone absent from the scene.

With Romy gone, Brain felt more comfortable as he sat down beside his friend, capable of ignoring the handful of guards keeping an eye on them. Pinky's sobs weren't the noisy blubberings he was used to, but that made them all the more painful to listen to. Carting his fingers through his fur, the megalomaniac stroked his back in an attempt to soothe him.

"I'm sorry, Pinky. I won't speak in that manner again. I promise," he assured him softly. "It wasn't my intention to upset you. You know I hate that."

The taller mouse sniffled and kept his face buried in his arms while he spoke, so only muffled sounds emerged. Brain's ears twitched, but he couldn't make out the words, so asked him to repeat it. This time Pinky lifted his head, fur of his face matted and moist and his teary eyes still leaking. "I hate when you're upset too."

"I know you do," Brain murmured, scratching behind Pinky ear and watched the tremor travel through his back to his leg.

"I hate when people talk mean about you too," he added, a frown uncharacteristic of the happy-go-lucky mouse wrinkling his features. "Even if it's you talking about you. And I don't hate much, Brain. Hate isn't nice at all."

Pink eyes blinked behind their spectacles and his lips quirked up slightly. Leave it to his inane companion to inspire this odd mixture of amusement and concern in him. "You're quite right, Pinky. It isn't nice."

Far too serious for either of them to be all that comfortable, Pinky nodded. "I don't like feeling that way, Brain. I love you too much to let you say mean things about yourself. So please. Don't."

Love. A many-meaninged word. Brain attempted to ignore the hopeful spark in his heart and the shiver that settled in his aging bones. Of course Pinky loved him. Pinky loved everything. Well, apparently not self-deprecation, but that was beside the point. The point was they were friends, best friends, family even. So love was a perfectly acceptable term to address any feelings the taller mouse could possibly have towards him. Even if he didn't deserve them-

"You're doing it again." It was incredibly difficult not to burst out laughing at Pinky's serious scowl. The poor thing just didn't have it in him. "Stop it."

The order had Brain raising an eyebrow, not to mention that his obtuse friend had deduced his train of thought. "And how could you possibly know that?"

"Because I know you. You're one of the only things I do know, so I make sure to do it very well." Pinky nodded firmly, hesitating a beat while a considering look crossed his features. Then he was firm again. "Well, I try to anyway. Troz."

While it warmed his heart to hear, as he most certainly knew that Pinky did try very hard for him, the stubborn nature reared its head deep within him. Ruffling the already mussed tuft of fur atop his head, Brain rolled his eyes. "You only said you disliked "talking" mean. Nothing about thinking it. You can't stop me from thin-"

Pinky had grown tired of listening to the bad talk and being able to do nothing about it. So he pressed his lips to Brain's to shut him up. And to stop him from thinking. He could do that easily. He didn't realize he'd closed his eyes until it was over and blue eyes blinked open to see wide, shocked pink ones. Were he in another state of mind, he would've fallen into a fit of giggles at the silly look on Brain's face. But as it were, he could only feel satisfied that he'd accomplished what he'd set out to do.

He waited patiently for Brain to stop gawking, even though that took a few minutes. "Pinky... what...?"

"Will you listen now, Brain?" Pinky asked, sitting up with his hands folded in his lap. "I love you and I don't want any bad anythings - thoughts or words - about you at all."

The Brain licked his suddenly very dry lips, flushing as he caught himself. "Pinky, I- you- what I mean is-" A scowl etched upon his aging face at his inability to articulate himself. "You don't know what you're saying. You're young and innocent and-"

"I'm not stupid, Brain, I know what love is." Pinky crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

But he was so terribly stupid. However, he was also terribly loving. "I know you know what love is, but you don't know the context of your actions. You can't just kiss me."

"Because why?"

Brain opened his mouth to retort, but his voice fled him as the question stumped him. He blamed it on old age. So he settled for stubbornly scowling at his companion, greeted with a similar glower. They remained in a standoff for a moment or two until Pinky just couldn't hold the expression. His gaze softened and his lip began to quiver, hugging himself more than keeping his arms crossed defiantly.

"I've wanted to kiss you for a long time." Pinky blinked big, blue eyes at the smaller mouse, watching his stubbornness fade a bit. "Poit. But it was never the right moment and I wanted our first kiss to be special. Like a true love's first kiss." His ears drooped. "You do love me, don't you, Brain?"

"Of course I do, Pinky." The words spilled out before Brain even had the chance to realize they were out, unable to deny it when he was ensnared by the gorgeous gaze. He shook his head, more slowly than he would like but his mind was spinning far too rapidly for him to manage anything else. "But that's not the issue at hand," he replied, trying to salvage some of his dignity, but his voice cracked regardless and he had to pause to clear his throat. "You can't possibly... it goes against all reason for you to... Pinky, how is it that you love _me_?"

The lanky mouse titled his head and reached out to take one of Brain's hands in his. "You know how you always wanted the world a whole lot?" He waited for the megalomaniac's slow nod. "Well... poit. That's how much I want you. I can't think of anything anyone could ever want more, so that's what you are to me. You're my world."

"Pinky, I..." As the shorter mouse's mind raced, Pinky watched and was able to pinpoint the second guilt entered his pretty pink eyes.

"It's okay, Brain, I know you've never wanted me as much as the world." He gave his hand a squeeze, offering up a smile as his friend tried to find the words to deny his claim. "But that's because you never had to."

Brain blinked rapidly, swallowing several times as he considered what he'd said. Oh, Brain was con-fused all the time in his old age. Pinky squeezed his hand again as words found their way out of Brain's mazey head. "I don't understand, Pinky. What are you going on about?"

His most important mouse looked awfully hurt, even though he tried to hide it, Pinky could tell. So he bumped their noses together, the soft smile remaining. "I'm saying that you never had to want me, Brain. _Narf._ I was already yours."

Egad. Tears were not the reaction he wanted. Pinky cradled his old version of his cherished friend as he cried into his chest. His fingers carted through the graying fur and soft inane syllables were whispered in his ear until the world leader regained enough of himself to cup his cheeks, thumb tracing the scratch, and told him: "You never had to want me either."

Their lips crushed together desperately. One longed to make up for the years they'd missed and the other hungered for the chance to bring happiness to this mouse's life, even if it came at the cost of not giving his first kiss to his Brain. His Brain. All cold and alone and sad...

When Pinky burst into new tears, sobbing into their kisses, Brain hugged his head to his chest and called for assistance to his room. Their room. The time machine could wait to be repaired in the morning; his precious partner needed consoling as well as an injury that needed tending to and both were far too exhausted to make any headway. He really wasn't as young as he used to be.

The door shut, shrouding the two in the darkness of the bedroom. At first, the smaller mouse tried feverishly to comfort him with pleasure. Kissing sloppily, needy, and rubbing their fur together frantically. He'd waited so long and he wanted so much... those tears needed to stop. But a hand on his chest and frightened blue eyes prevented him from doing anything more than heavy petting and gentle kisses. There was a time and place for everything, and now wasn't it.

Safe in their bed, most of the tears kissed away and a bandage on Pinky's damp cheek, the pair cuddled under the covers. Lightly touching everywhere they could, neither could tear their eyes away. "Sorry, Brain," Pinky whispered, his eyes still glossy and red-rimmed. "I just... I wanted you to have my first kiss... before this. Together. I mean, with my Brain. _Zort._ You know?"

"I do," he hushed him, brushing his lips against his eyes and felt them flutter close, the affection coming freely. Far easier than he thought it would once upon a time. But now, in his old age, he had nothing to lose except the mouse in front of him. And he was losing him anyway. "When you return to the past - and you will, Pinky, I guarantee it - this future will have never happened. So our kiss will have never happened." He watched the eyes threaten to open, but stroked his thumb over his lids to keep them closed. "You and I can have our first kiss together. At the same age, whenever you want."

"Really, Brain?" he asked through a sigh, snuggling against him. "Promise?"

The leader of the world pressed his lips firmly to his forehead. "I promise. Whenever you decide to tell me, I can assure you that I feel the exact same way. So don't be afraid, my dear. No matter how much I yell at or hurt you, my love for you is as everlasting as the earth." The words came so very easily when they fell on deaf ears. Pinky's breaths had evened out before he'd finished his assurances, but the smile on his lips absolved him of any lingering guilt.

He would send him home. To the mouse who needed him more, who needed to give Pinky the long life he deserved by his side. Together forever. He would have a different life, far more satisfying and treasured than this one. Brain was absolutely certain that Pinky would make sure of that.

* * *

Awwwwwww.

These two... seriously. They never fail to warm my heart.

Only one chapter to go! If I don't have it up by tomorrow evening, I owe every person who comments/complains about it a oneshot of their choosing xD So expect it!

Gag Credit-

pneu-mono-ultra-micro-scopic-silico-volcano-koniosis: "a factitious word alleged to mean 'a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust, causing inflammation in the lungs" (also, can you believe that only accepts this word with hyphens in it? It's too long otherwise! It just deletes it xD so, it really is spelled without the dashes).


	8. Chapter 8

Snowball was not found.

It unnerved Brain, but he could not allow himself to dwell on it. He had a time machine to fix and a lover to please. Lover. The title sent shivers down his spine, which only served to catch the attention of the mouse in question who took it as a sign of being cold. Thus he took it upon himself to stay wrapped up tight around the smaller mouse, making it harder to ignore how the other got his heart racing. Until he called attention to his age over and over again.

"It's okay, Brain, I'll keep your old, balding, gray, cranky cold self warm! I know old people can't keep themselves as warm. 'Cause they're so old and all."

"Yes, Pinky. I'm aware that I'm old." It was still an easy feat to become annoyed by the imbecile. Glaring, he glanced over his shoulder at the mouse who deemed it acceptable to rest his chin on it. "It's rather difficult to work with you hovering..."

"Poit. But I'm on the ground, Brain," Pinky pointed out, giggling as he received a light bop for his efforts followed by a nuzzle.

"Just go play, dear. It won't take nearly as long to build this time." With his eidetic memory, he'd already accomplished twice as much in half the time. He even improved on the original design, more determined than ever to get Pinky to his own time.

The taller mouse nodded and proceeded to roll away, barely heeding the warnings to stay close by just in case. They had guards in every corridor, especially surrounding the pair of them as well as Romy, but Snowball was tricky and Brain didn't want to risk something happening simply because Pinky wandered off. Thankfully their clone stopped in to check on them, effectively distracting Pinky from any Super Mouse adventures he'd been entertaining and gave Brain the opportunity to continue working in peace.

"How's your cheek, ma?" Romy asked, eyeing the bandage still on his parent's face.

"Oh, it's all better now!" he chirped. "_Troz._ And it didn't even need a kiss! Just a bandaid." Pinky began to march in place, giving a little twirl as he sang, "I am stuck on bandaid brand, 'cause bandaid's stuck on me! _Narf!_"

Offering a laidback grin, he shoved his hands in the on-and-off pockets in his fur. "So why's it still there?"

"It's a war wound," Pinky declared, ceasing his spinning to strike a heroic pose. "It makes me look debonair."

"It makes you look like an idiot." The two mice glanced over at Brain upon hearing his two-cents, though the shorter mouse just detested the reminder that he'd been injured on his watch. And not in the fun-fun silly-willy way. Aware of their gazes, he ignored them and turned the wrench several more times.

"Yes, that too," Pinky giggled, hugging himself while Romy gave him a pat on the shoulder.

With Romy had also come a tray with tea and little pastries for them to snack on. At first Pinky protested, wanting to make his own tea, but their son assured him that he'd made it himself and how could he deny such a sweet gesture as that? So he thanked Romy and sat with him as they chatted and sipped and nibbled. Then the sugar high hit and Pinky was bouncing off the walls while Roman tried to see if he could help his dad out at all.

There were only a few more tweaks he had to make and it'd be complete. Pinky was bouncing with excitement, his eyes bright. "Is it ready now? Is it? Hm? Hm? HMMMM?"

Brain had to bat him away several times. He mentally wished his past self luck in taking over the world with this bundle of energy at his side, but then his lips quirked upward. Taking over the world with Pinky at his side. Just as it was supposed to be.  
One more bolt to tighten. Brain put it in place, ready to begin twisting the wrench when his ears twitched. His senses were dulling, yes, but his hearing remained acute where smell and sight were lacking.

"Need some help, dad?" Roman offered, taking up the tools, figuring his father was growing tired from all the activity. As he fiddled with the machine in Brain's place, the megalomaniac tapped his spectacles down from where they rested on his forehead. Narrowed pink eyes slowly followed the trail of biscuits Pinky had left behind as the taller mouse spun around in circles; dancing and singing to his heart's content.

He was just so happy! He'd get to go home soon, for real this time! There'd be no Snowball to ruin everything and no evil icky laser beams and Brain loved him. Had always loved him, so that meant in the past too. Pinky hugged himself tightly as he laughed, his tail going a mile a minute. He and Brain would have a for real first kiss when he got home, then they could take over the world and build their happy castle together. Oh, it would be marvelous!

"Pinky, come here." Blue eyes blinked over at the smaller mouse, his happiness still radiating off him.

"Just a second, Brain!" He twirled in a circle, hands in the air. "The song in my head hasn't finished yet!"

"Pinky." He knew that warning tone, but didn't quite understand why it was there. The machiney thing was almost finished and he wasn't doing anything to mess it up.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brain reach for his cane while he spun. Oh, was a bop coming? Fun-fun silly-willy! Oh, the world was so many pretty colors all spinning around him, almost as lovely as the gummy bear hall-

He heard the click a beat too late, only half-turned towards the sound when the wind was knocked out of him. Hitting the ground hurt, he'd landed funny on his hip and he hadn't been expecting it at all. His ears were also ringing with a loud sound, or a quiet sound, he couldn't really tell. But it was all buzzy in his head and the room was still spinning around him. Dizzy.

There was also a muffled underwater sound. Pinky shook his head, pushing himself up into a sitting position and blinked some of the dizzy away. He tried to call for Brain, to ask him what had happened, but his tongue felt funny and his cagemate wasn't over by the machiney thingy like he'd last seen. There was only Romy, and he was yelling the muffled sounds. He looked scared. But he wasn't looking at him.

Pinky followed his gaze. It led right to Brain. He was closer than he thought he'd be, that must've been why he grabbed his cane. As an oldy he didn't like walking much without it. But he wasn't walking now, he wasn't even standing. Pinky's heart understood faster than his head did, the beats slowing-almost-stopping as the image committed itself to memory, then sped up so fast he thought it would run away right out of his chest.

"Brain...?" Brain was lying down on the ground. He never did that unless he'd fallen from something. And he hadn't fallen, to Pinky's knowledge, and there was nothing to fall from. "Brain?" But even if he had fallen, he never stayed down for long. He never just... stayed all still on the ground. Tears filled his eyes and he didn't even know why. "Brain, wuh- what're you doing on the floor, Brain?"

"Still as dense as ever, Pinky?" Above him he heard mean laughter, but when he looked up there was nothing. Below him the floor was rumbling as guards stormed in, shouting and scanning the ceiling. "Now you really are _Brain_-less!"

"Ma, run!" He could barely hear Romy's yell over the noise. There was a lot of noise. And Brain still wasn't getting up. He could be squished by the soldiers if he didn't get up. "Ma, get over here! Hurry!"

Pinky crawled over to his best friend, his legs weren't working well enough for him to stand. "Brain, get up." He placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him. "Brain, get up! Please?" But even manners were useless. "Brain!"

His eyes were closed like he was sleeping, but Pinky knew he wasn't. Not even Brain could sleep through all this noise. And he'd never ignore him like this, that was just mean and Brain was never that mean to him. Especially old Brain, he was extra nice. Tears plipped onto the graying fur and Pinky glanced down at his chest. The fur was charred and there was a lot of red; he couldn't look at it for long. Instead he gripped his arm and lowered his head to the lumpy big round one of his best friend, where all the smarty thoughts and biggly-wiggly words were.

A hand on his shoulder startled him, and Pinky realized he was making really funny sounds as he looked up at Romy. "Ma, you've gotta go!"

"I can't leave him! He'll be all alone and sad!" he tried to say, but whether he conveyed it properly past the lump in his throat and the crushing feeling in his chest was unknown to him. "He needs me!"

"Ma-"

"No!" Pinky draped himself over the body, holding tight. He could hold as tight as he wanted now and wouldn't ever get bopped for it... A choked, gasping noise tore out of his throat and Romy tugged harder on him. "Brain!"

"He needs you, you're right, ma," he said quickly, right into his ear. "Dad needs you, but the only way you can help him is if you go back, okay? You can go back and this will never have happened. Do you understand, ma?" Pink eyes met blue, and the taller mouse longed for it to be a different pair. This pair looked too much the same and different all at once. And they were just as devastated as he felt. "I've got the time machine working, the window's open to your time. You can go back but you have to go now. Before Snowball destroys it or you."

"But, Brain..." It felt like he was screaming, but his voice was no louder than a whisper.

"He's waiting for you, I promise." Romy pried him off, yanking him to his feet and shoved him towards the machine. "Now go!"

There were gunshots and lasers and shattering sounds everywhere. Pinky stumbled forward, barely missing getting squished himself as guards ran about. He looked around frantically for the time machine. When he spotted it, he ran for it. A shot went off close to it. Too close for comfort. Pinky got down on all fours to go faster, darting between legs and around shattered glass. He slipped and nearly missed it, and Snowball took aim from his new perch in the high window and Pinky squeezed his eyes shut and leapt-

Only to somersault head over heels across the counter and into a stack of books. He kept his eyes closed a moment after he'd stopped, cracking one open cautiously. Upside-down, he saw the shiny blue-tiled floor and donut chandelier for only a second until it flickered out and only the lab was left. The lab. The lab!

"Narf!" Pinky flailed and flopped forward onto his belly, bounding to his feet in an instance. Adrenaline still coursing through him, he spun in frantic circles until he realized it was getting him nowhere. "Brain! Brain!" he hollered, making a beeline for their cage. Their cage! Right on the counter where it belonged!

But it was empty. Breathing heavily, Pinky clenched the bars of the cage then sprung away to the last place he'd seen his friend. The plans were all there, scattered about, but the big-headed mouse was absent from the scene. Ears flat against his head and eyes wide, Pinky clutched his heart and backed away slowly. Where was he? He was supposed to be here. He was supposed to be okay!

"Brain?" he whimpered, slowly scanning the counter for any sign of him.

He almost missed the sound of the window sliding open, his heart beating awfully loud in his ears, but when he recognized it for what it was his ears perked and Pinky spun so fast he almost toppled over. On the windowsill, dripping wet and fur mussed, was his Brain. Well, a very confused-looking Brain, but it was his Brain regardless. He was young and chubby and perfect.

With a sigh of relief, the shorter mouse's shoulders sagged and he brought his hand up to rub his big ol' head. "Pinky..."

"Braaaaaaiiiin!" Pinky wailed, only seeing the surprise on the megalomaniac's face for a split-second before barrelling into him and sent them both sprawling across the counter. He didn't care that he was wet, he needed to be hugged and snuggled extra lots and then some. "Brain! Oh, Brain, you're alright!" Mid-nuzzle, his snout was pushed away a little, so Brain had room to breathe.

"Pinky, what is the meaning of this? Of course I'm alright, you're the one who was-" he cut himself off, the dampness of his cheeks as well as the foreign bandage registering. "Pinky, what happened? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine!" he sobbed, clinging tightly to the mouse he loved best. "I'm just so happy you're okay and not old!"

"What?" Pink eyes blinked, his mind unable to completely catch up just yet. "Pinky, what are you going on about?"

Pinky sat up, cradling him close and keeping him safe in his lap. "Oh it was awful, Brain! Our castle was there but it wasn't right at all! And Romy was all grown up and not following his dreams and you were old and sad and saggy-baggy and gray and _old_! I was gone for so long and it broke you into itty bitty little pieces! You weren't even happy with the world! The whole world! And Snowball! Snowball was so mean! And I had to leave you and I'm sorry and I won't ever leave you again! Never ever never!"

Brain squirmed in his grasp, managing to ease the grip around him some so he could yank on Pinky's nose to get his attention. "Pinky, stop your babbling or I shall have to hurt you," he told him, feeling something tug his heartstrings as tearful, honestly despairing blue eyes blinked at him. "You're not making any sense, my friend. You've only been gone an hour. Two at most." Two of the most terrifying hours of his life, but still only two. He shuddered at the thought that it could've been more, but he shook it away because here his companion was, safe and sound. Well... sound was debatable with these deranged ramblings pouring out of him.

"That's what I said!" he blubbered, bumping their noses together. "But everyone was saying it'd been years and years and it had!"

Releasing his snout, Brain brushed his palm against Pinky's forehead. No fever. Perhaps he'd eaten something rancid while he was out. He 'hmphed' quietly and cupped his cheeks instead. "Well, they're all wrong. You're here and I'm here and neither of us are old."

"Poit." Pinky snuggled closer. "I wasn't old, Brain. It was just you."

Brain's brow twitched. "Right, of course. How silly of me to presume otherwise." His eyes widened in shock and his ears sprung up as he realized Pinky had kissed the top of his head.

"I'm sorry, Brain. I really am. I didn't mean to make you think I'd run away from you forever." He hugged him closer, their chests pressed together and inspiring a light dusting of pink across the megalomaniac's face.

Mortified, Brain sputtered, "Nonsense! I thought nothing of the kind! I figured it was just one of your foolish whims-" But guilt quickly overtook embarrassment, as Pinky's ears fell and his eyes grew wide. Oh, who was he kidding? He'd been terrified. As he recalled the cruel words that sent his cagemate away, the fear that Pink had gone to locate an all too familiar bridge came creeping back into his heart. Too quickly to waste time thinking about it, Brain pressed his lips to Pinky's non-injured cheek and forced him to look straight in his eyes. "Pinky, you have no reason to apologize. Had I not lost my temper with you then none of this would've happened. So it is I who should be sorry, and I am. I couldn't ask for a better friend and I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I do," he sniffled, bumping their noses together. "I'll help you take over the world, Brain, and I'll stay with you forever. You'll never have to be lonely or sad. I promise."

"Pinky..." he sighed, tweaking one of his cagemate's ears. "Thank you." How this mouse could see through him so easily, see how much he depended on him when even Brain himself didn't know exactly how much until faced with losing him, unnerved him. But they were both coming down from emotional rollercoasters, clearly, so he let it slide. "Come. It has been an exhausting evening and we should rest up for tomorrow."

"You should dry off first, Brain." Pinky pulled back a little to look him over. "Why are you all wet?"

He cleared his throat, squirming out of Pinky's hold. "I was... checking for something, that's all." Checking to make sure his body wasn't at the bottom of the river. Suppressing a shiver, Brain latched onto Pinky's hand and tugged him along. "It seems as if you would benefit from a towel as well."

Indeed, Pinky's front and arms were damp from where he'd rubbed against him. "Right, Brain. And I can tell you all about what happened!"

"I'm sure you can," he deadpanned.

By the time they were curled up in bed, however, Brain was not certain what to make of Pinky's adventure. Whether truth or fiction, he resolved to seek out Snowball regardless and destroy any time related gadgets he may or may not have. Some things just shouldn't be tampered with.  
"I love you," Pinky murmured sleepily, wrapped completely around the smaller mouse. "_Narf._"

Brain's breath caught in his throat and stayed there until he was certain Pinky was asleep. Then he released it in a soft sigh and brushed his lips against the base of his ear. "Goodnight, Pinky."

And while they slept, both could hear the sound of the other's heartbeat and it was enough for now.

* * *

And they all lived happily, ever after (except Snowball). The End! Poit!

Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Time Travel FTW!


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